West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a monthly allowance of $1,500 for unemployed youth seeking work to help them move towards self-reliance in the future.
The announcement, made on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8, was made while she was addressing the sit-in held against the widespread deletion of voters’ names by the Election Commission during the special intensified review of electoral rolls in the state, news agency PTI reported.
The announcement is crucial as it comes ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in West Bengal soon.
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Who will be eligible for the monthly allowance?
Mamata said that those who have passed the matriculation exam (10th grade) will receive the monthly allowance. The Bengal Minister said that young men and women, aged between 21 to 40 years, who have passed their matriculation examinations, will be given the allowance from March 7 itself.
“In the case of Yuva Sathi, all those who are still studying and are not beneficiaries of any schemes other than scholarships will get the amount,” Mamata was quoted as saying by PTI. The Prime Minister said that while the TMC-led government had earlier said that this allowance would start in April, they would now distribute the amounts immediately.
“…Since tomorrow is International Women’s Day, as a gift we have changed the payment date from April 1 to today (March 7),” Mamata said.
Mamata says unemployment in Bengal has fallen by 40%
Mamata said her government has created job opportunities in the state, adding that the unemployment rate in West Bengal has come down by 40 per cent. “We have provided skill training to at least 40,000 people, of which about 10,000 people are already employed,” the Prime Minister said.
Mamata also said this was made possible because the state government “linked the websites of industrialists with those who have received skill training through Utkarsha Bangla,” PTI reported. The Prime Minister said that opportunities would also be provided to migrant workers. “I recently heard that about 10,000 people are being trained in jute making and they will also be absorbed into jobs,” she said.
The President of Bengal highlighted what her government announced $4,000 to landless farmers, saying earlier that farmers with one hut of land were also getting the same amount.
West Bengal was “number one in small and medium scale industries”, Mamata said, noting that 1.5 lakh crore of its residents were employed in small scale industries.
