Policy

National Youth Policy:

The government of India formulated a youth policy in 2003. It also committed to review these policies once in 5 yrs. Such a review was due in 2008. While celebrating 50th anniversary of the AIYF on May 3, 2008 at Madubani in Bihar, following suggestions were made by the AIYF.

General

We are living in a world where 113 million children do not go to school, 130 million youth do not know how to read or write. All over the world, 209 million young people (18% of the total) live on less than one US dollar per day and some 515 million live on less than two US dollar per day.

Young workers are the victims of hire and fire policies thus increasing insecurity and consequent Mental Torture. Unemployment among the young (ages 15-24) rose from 11.7% in 1993 to 14.4% in 2003 (that is 88 million young people world wide). The phenomenon of global recession has led to lack of jobs in world in general and India in particular. .

As employment sources are decreasing and under employment increasing, highly qualified youngsters are struggling in call centers or other jobs for a pittance. Exploitations, hunger, unemployment, dearth of health care, poverty and misery continue to grow as a result of the imperialist economic policies. .

India is a country with one of the youngest population in the world. A government survey estimates that the Indian population is approximately 1.136 billion, out of which 72% belongs to rural populace, the 31.8% with the age group below 15 years, 40% between the age group of 15-25 years and 56% below the age of 40 years in our population. However, millions of youth are unemployed. The unemployment rate has gone up 3 folds in the country. The figure released in 2008 by D.G.E.T. department shows that the rate of annual unemployment is touching 9 percent in India. .

The Basic Needs of the youth in the country are education, employment, housing, health, sports, entertainments, recreation, facilities to develop abilities to contribute to the society, participation in policy making and implementation, right to safeguard themselves from drugs, alcohol, infections diseases and right and need to struggle for peace against war and killings. But what is the reality? Even 25 percent of the young community remains deprived of facilities to meet these needs. Instead they are plunged in to a world filled with unemployment, little or no educational facilities, poverty, and are being used as pawns of anti-social outfits, becoming targets of imperialist, and sectionalist movements. A sizable section of the youth gets alienated from the social values falling prey to degrading practices. .

The new trends created by LPG policies can be seen in the privatization of education that has opened doors only for the affluent who can afford it. The knowledge of science, information technology has been restricted only for few. .

In this context mapping out a correct and scientific national youth policy and its implementation has become an immediate need.

History:

In India, youth organizations and democratic forces have been asking since long for a comprehensive National Youth Policy and a separate department for Youth Welfare and Sports at central and state level. AIYF since its inception has launched many movements and struggles, in this context.

Government has made claims and also emphasized in its report that steps for youth development and efforts to involve them in the national development programmes have been there since 2nd five year plan. There has been special emphasis given on the needs of the youth and training youth leadership. Support was provided to voluntary organizations to participate in youth development programmes, develop community service. There have been steps to promote Nehru Yuva Kendras, National Service Scheme, National Service Voluntary Scheme, “Youth Development Centers” for a group of ten villages for creation of facilities for information, sports, trainings, and for taking up youth programmes for rural youth, Committee for National Youth Programme in pursuance of National Youth Policy, National Youth Festival (Yuva Utsav) in all the five year plans.

All these programmes failed to achieve any significance and not fulfill the expectations, due to lack of policy, fund and implementation. Majority of youth were not even mobilized in these development activities.

In the year 1985, youth welfare and sports departments were created separately, but the fund allocation was very low. In 1987 the then government drafted a National Youth Policy. The NYP 1987 neither responds to the hopes and aspirations of the Indian Youth nor does it address the basic problems confronting them.

The democratic and progressive youth movements were launched to express the unhappiness over such a policy. Certain concrete alternative proposals were given. In 1989, V.P. Singh, the then Prime Minister of India announced a youth policy after he had consultation with youth organizations, and a National Youth Council was also constituted. But consequent to the fall of that government, his successor P.V. Narasimha Rao had thrown the measures in to the cold storage and continued with the old one unilaterally.

The National Youth Policy was redrafted in the year 2003, in corporating certain changes to match the developing Socio-Economical situations.
It was planned to take steps towards personality development, community service, social justice, self reliance, National Integration, humanism through Youth Development Schemes. “Youth Empowerment” and “Gender Equality” are the prime objects of this policy. It tends to ensure education, employment opportunities and access to health facilities with out gender or any other discrimination.

The stated objective is to ensure youth participation in the power nucleus including policy making and implementation. Education, Training and Employment, Health and Family Welfare, Environmental Preservation, Sports; Art and Culture, Science and Technology and civics and good citizenship are identified as the key sectors to be paid attention for enforcing the above matters.

Rural and Tribal youth, out of school youths, handicapped and adolescents, particularly female are the target groups of young people identified for implementation of these schemes. The implementation policy has to be reviewed once in 5 years.

The tragic condition during the past 4 years in UPA period has only created counter productive results in the society. The economic policy of the rulers had widened the gap between the haves and have-nots. Poverty, unemployment, inadequate health care and education as well as malnutrition have been on the rise.

It is in this situation the AIYF suggests a new comprehensive National Youth Policy.

Our policy is based on the following two main concepts:

1. Youth community is the main resource for the country’s uplifting. Youth future is country’s future. The term “Indian Youth” means persons living in India in the age group of 15 – 40.

2. Recognition of the rights of youth to engage in all fields. The youth year declared by UN in 1985 admitted the importance of this concept. The UN resolution on this reads “the gravest issue is the opening for the youth in to development process. The four major ways of participation that are political, economical, social, cultural, are constantly equal and interwoven”.

So, the AIYF aims at the following:

1. Overall development of youth community

2. Empowerment of Youth Community

3. Creating a qualitative and proportionately higher level of youth leadership in social, economical, political spheres.

Therefore the AIYF Suggests:

The ritualistic style of funtioning of Nehru Yuva Kendra and NSS is to be changed. At least 50 percentages of young girls should enroll in NYK, NSS, NCC and Squat.

Youth clubs and Mahila Mandal should start in every village. Fruitful co-ordination is necessary among Block development office, Panchayats and Nehru Yuva Kendra to carry out the development programme in the villages. Functioning of the youth clubs should be qualitative, not only quantitative. Power should be given to them to monitor the government schemes.

Under district collector co-ordination committee at district, Mandal and village level including the representatives of youth clubs and Mahila Mandals are to be formed. Enhance power to supervise the development activities.

Periodic meetings are necessary for youth and Mahila Mandals to give orientation on national and social issues to improve their quality and achievement.

Youth representation at power levels of policy making, and about decision and implementation level should be ensured. At least 30% of the youth should be the members of these bodies and 50% of that to be allocated for young girls.

For a allotments of license, petrol and gas agency, loan must be given to the youth below 35-40 years. The training and commercial experience to self employed youth must be enhanced and government should undertake sale of their finished products.

Government must take steps to address the grave issue of lack of hostel and lodgings facilities for youth engaged in the areas of employment and sports, particularly for rural youth.

There should be initiation of award festival at all levels covering vivid arenas of arts in paying due recognitions for young artists and their skills and set up cultural centre at grass root level.

Training young volunteer health workers and directing them to dedicate uplifting health services conditions during disasters.

Arrangements be made for youth community/ organizations to discourage from consuming liquor, smoking and drugs. Periodic meeting, once in six months should be convened to review the implementation of the schemes.

Job oriented education is necessary for all from middle class. Employment and training related courses should be enhanced in school curriculum.

The AIYF demands:

1. Right to work should be included in the constitution as a basic right.

2. Reservation should be extended to the private sectors.

3. Fund allocation for education and health should be enhanced to 6 % and 3% of GDP respectively.

4. National Youth Fund should be developed to encourage various youth activities and generate employment.

5. National Youth Council with statutory power should be established.

6. The sports policy of the government is centered upon a particular game. Neither the games sported by the major section are not duly acknowledged nor are those who practice these games encouraged. The implementation of the sports policy-2001 is not encouraging and hardly find, young sports persons in the bodies of sports council, Federations and in IOA. National sports development fund has not been used properly to improve the physical capacity of the sports persons, particularly in the rural and tribal areas. An urgent measure to be taken to review the sports policy.

7.Remove ban on recruitment in central government and public sectors. Retirement age should not increase. Unemployment assistance for the unemployed to be paid by the government till they secure jobs.

8. Start a new National Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme so that issues of thousands of unemployed urban youth can be addressed to a greater extent.

The National Youth Policy of government should be reviewed. The implementation policy has to be reviewed once in 5 years necessitating the current (2008) year as the year of review. AIYF urges the central government to come with white paper on the implementation of the youth policy and call a meeting of the youth organizations to review and discuss for a comprehensive youth policy.

A comprehensive youth policy taking in to account all aspects concerning the development of youth is the need of the hour since” Future of youth is the fiture of the country.