October 31 : Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Kaushal Prashikshan Evam Rozgar Kshetra Vikas Yojana at Lok Bhavan on the 151st birth anniversary of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He announced that the state would develop Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Skill and Employment Zones in all 75 districts.
In the first phase, the process of establishing these centers has been initiated in Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi and Gautam Buddh Nagar. The scheme will then expand to all 18 divisional headquarters and then to every district of the state. These centers will provide youth registration, skill training based on their interests and abilities, and employment arrangements under one roof. Young people seeking jobs abroad will also receive training in the language of the respective country and the skills needed to connect them with employment opportunities.
CM stated, “The scheme has been launched in five districts in first phase. Funds have already been arranged for all 18 divisional headquarters. The centers will be constructed as soon as land becomes available. In Gautam Buddha Nagar, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority is developing this center and an institution like Tata has already joined the initiative. Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority has also joined this initiative in Gorakhpur.
“If a young person has passed high school and wants to work, they will be registered at the center. They will receive skilling based on their interests and will then be placed in an institution, factory, or another sector. If a young person trained in nursing wants to go to Japan or Germany, they will be taught the language of the respective country. They will receive training according to local requirements, and the concerned embassy will help arrange employment. Not only young people can visit an Employment Zone. Even an older person seeking employment will be able to access these facilities.”
CM stated that MoUs had been signed with institutions such as Tata Indian Institute of Skills, Ashok Leyland, BBC Group, PTC, CIPET, Asian Development Bank, Minda and Avaada. “Young people will benefit from the experience and technology of these institutions,” he said. He also mentioned vehicle manufacturing in Lucknow and Ashok Leyland's production of electric vehicles.
CM stated, “Value addition in food processing can increase farmers' income manifold. By making products such as buttermilk, ghee, butter and paneer from milk, higher value can be obtained. Similarly, better earnings are possible through the processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables.”
CM congratulated the young people who received job cards at the program. He mentioned assistance of up to ₹5 lakh, interest-free and without a guarantee, under the CM Yuva Yojana, as well as the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
He stated, “Prime Minister Modi Ji has introduced a system that allows students to pursue two degrees or courses simultaneously. Young people can receive skill training alongside their college studies. By setting aside a few hours every day for skilling, they can improve their employment prospects. A true tribute to Sardar Patel is to connect young people with national unity, skills and employment. Government will develop Employment Zones in all 75 districts with this resolve.”
CM stated, “India has the youngest population in the world and UP has the largest youth population in the country. This is our greatest strength.” Attacking the Congress and Samajwadi Party, he said, “People from Congress and Samajwadi Party considered this a burden, whereas we considered it an achievement. We connected scale with Prime Minister Modi's Skill Development initiative. When skill is combined with scale, employment follows. If there is scale but no skill, momentum turns into decline. However, when scale is accompanied by skill, that same momentum turns into progress.”
Launching a sharp attack on previous governments, CM stated, “Earlier, people used to say that Uttar Pradesh could not change. We said that UP would certainly change. Those who did not want change had made UP BIMARU. UP was not BIMARU; it was the mindset of those who were governing the state at that time that was BIMARU.
“Previous governments had patronized mafias in every district. Their mafias and dacoits would take control of jobs and employment opportunities meant for young people. Young people, helpless and frustrated, would migrate and conceal their identity. Previous governments followed the policy of ‘One District, One Mafia’. We consigned mafias to the dust and gave UP's products a platform and an identity.
“Over the past nine and a half years, more than nine and a half lakh young people have been provided direct government employment. Through ‘One District, One Product’, more than 3.25 crore people have received employment in the state. The improved security environment has also generated employment for lakhs of young people through industrial development.”
Targeting the Congress and Samajwadi Party, CM stated, “When Prime Minister Modi spoke about Jan Dhan accounts, Congress, Samajwadi Party and others used to laugh. During the Congress regime, a Prime Minister would express his helplessness by saying that when ₹100 was sent, only ₹15 reached the poor. That money did not disappear gradually through wear and tear. Their people swallowed it and misappropriated it. They would eat into the money meant for the poor and for development.
“Jan Dhan accounts ensured that money reached the very people for whom it was intended. Now, when ₹100 is sent, the entire ₹100 reaches the beneficiary's account directly. There is no money cut.
“During the Congress regime, PCOs were opened, but even after paying money, people could not get telephone connections. These Congress leaders looted the country and instilled the habit of looting among the people as well. They even sold telephone connections and LPG connections. Today, through Digital India, India is leading the digital revolution.”
CM stated, “Earlier, India was identified among the world's unstable and unreliable economies. India was considered part of the Fragile Five. Thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, India is now among the world's five largest economies and has become the fastest-growing economy.
“Sardar Patel was the architect of India's unity. He made an unforgettable contribution to building an undivided India by uniting more than 563 princely states. He was a freedom fighter, an important pillar of the Constituent Assembly, and the country's first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Statue of Unity, established in Kevadia, Gujarat, symbolizes Sardar Patel's towering personality.
“Our caste, province, faith, community, color, appearance, dialect and language may differ, but our sentiment is one: ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’. This is the foundation of a developed India.”
CM Yogi credited Prime Minister Modi Ji with fulfilling Sardar Patel's dreams and building a secure India free from terrorism, separatism, extremism and Naxalism.
Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak; MSME Minister Bhupendra Chaudhary; Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi; Labor and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar; along with MLAs, senior government and industry officials, industrialists and a large number of young people, were present on the occasion.
