Lucknow, Nov 15 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday highlighted the importance of making youth digitally empowered and focused on the creation of new opportunities, while referring to the young population as “demographic dividend”.
Addressing a gathering during the distribution of tablets to more than 53,000 students from Lucknow, Sitapur, Hardoi, and Unnao, the Chief Minister said that appointment letters for more than one lakh government jobs would be issued by January 26, 2027.
Noting that India is the world’s youngest nation, with 56 per cent of its population comprising young people, CM Adityanath said: “Uttar Pradesh is the country’s youngest state, with 56 to 60 per cent of its population in the youth category.”
“The state government views Uttar Pradesh’s 25 crore population not as a burden but as a demographic dividend. Prior to 2017, many young people faced an identity crisis, whereas today they proudly identify themselves as residents of Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
Moreover, the Chief Minister said that the distribution of tablets is an “effort towards digitally empowering the youth”.
However, he added that the state government is not only making young people digitally empowered but is also creating new opportunities for employment and self-employment.
“The tablets distributed today will help students in education, skill development, and employment,” the Chief Minister said, advising students not to use tablets solely for entertainment, but as a tool for gaining knowledge and building their future.
Chief Minister Adityanath mentioned that free digital study material for more than 18,000 courses have been made available on these devices. These include subjects ranging from yoga to modern fields such as Artificial Intelligence and Deep Tech.
He recalled that the ‘Swami Vivekananda Yuva Sashaktikaran Yojana’, under which the tablets are being distributed, was launched by the Centre on December 25, 2021, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, students’ education was affected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to Swami Vivekananda as a spiritual icon for every young person in India, the Chief Minister said: “He (Swami Vivekananda) brought renewed global recognition to India’s Sanatan tradition. When questions were being raised at India, he had told youths here to proudly call themselves as ‘Hindus’.”
CM Adityanath asserted that the BJP-led “double-engine government” has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals, effectively eliminating mafia influence.
“Today, there is no curfew, no riots, and everything is well in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
In a veiled attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Chief Minister alleged that in the past, political leaders used recruitment drives for extortion and that jobs were allegedly secured through influence and corruption.
“Examination papers were often written by one person while appointments went to another. The previous government created “Munna Bhai” type frauds rather than genuine employment and many such appointments had to be cancelled after his (Bharatiya Janata Party) government came to power,” he alleged.
CM Adityanath asserted that recruitments are now being conducted with complete transparency and integrity and that the Uttar Pradesh government has also taken strict action against cheating mafias, including confiscating the properties of those who play with the future of youth.
“Uttar Pradesh has moved from ‘mafia rule’ to the ‘rule of law’, and that the state’s identity has changed due to the zero-tolerance policy against criminals,” he added.
He also said that through Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), 500 youth have been selected for employment in BrahMos and related units.
Referring to Operation Sindoor, the Chief Minister added that the BrahMos missile facility in Lucknow had generated employment opportunities for the youth and which, in turn, subsequently demonstrated India’s military strength to Pakistan.
“As many as 500 young people being selected for jobs with the BrahMos missile project and its associated units…Today, one of the world’s finest rifles, the AK-203, is being manufactured right here in Amethi. Its components are being produced in Kanpur. And all this has become possible because there is a strong security environment and investment is taking place,” he said.
The Chief Minister also highlighted that before 2017, Uttar Pradesh had only 120 startups, “whereas today more than 25,000 startups are active in the state”.
He said that the state’s 96 lakh MSME units provide employment to more than three crore people.
He announced that an Economic and Industrial Zone named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel will be developed in every district.
“The Uttar Pradesh government is also preparing to develop an industrial city across 56,000 acres in Bundelkhand. Our effort is that young people become job creators rather than job seekers,” CM Adityanath said.
–IANS
cg/khz