Draft National Youth Policy 2012

Ajay Maken Unveils Draft National Youth Policy 2012

Mr Ajay Maken, Union Minister of State (independent Charge) Youth Affairs & Sports, today unveiled the exposure draft of the National Youth Policy, 2012. Addressing the press conference here, Shri Maken announced that the Draft NYP 2012 is first of its kind as it recognizes that Youth is not a homogenous group and has numerous differentials based on habitat, environment, socio-economic status of their families and their own life styles. In addition, the Draft Policy proposes to change the target age group from the existing 13-35 years to 16-30 years.

Giving details, he said that the Draft Policy not only spells out the objectives but also elaborates the details of the policy interventions required and identified partners responsible for achieving the objectives. In a first, Youth Development Index (YDI), that would serve as the baseline and ready reckoner for evaluators and policy makers, has also been incorporated as a part of the policy.

Minister announced that the changing scenario in the country due to globalization, rapid technological advancement and the emergence of India as the global economic power has necessitated a review of the existing National Youth Policy of 2003. In a significant move forward, the Draft Youth policy, for the first time, has also been under pinned by the guiding principle of providing targeted employable skills to different youth segments in line with Prime Minister’s Skill Development Mission, apart from identifying varied segments based on socio-economic, gender and geographical parameters as specific targets, Shri Maken added.

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), was mandated to review the existing Youth Policy (NYP 2003) by way of detailed consultations, both in-house as well as at regional levels across the  country. RGNIYD   evolved a base policy paper titled draft NYP 2010. A copy of this Draft Youth Policy 2010 was hosted on the website of both the Ministry as well as RGNIYD seeking comments and suggestions. The comments and suggestions received have now been incorporated and a draft NYP 2012 has been prepared.

Key Features of Draft NYP 2012:-
ü    The Draft NYP 2012 recognizes that youth is not a homogenous group and there are numerous differentials based on their habitat, environment in which they live, socio-economic status of the families they belong to and their own life style.

ü    The target groups identified are (i) Student Youth (ii) Migrant Youth (iii) Rural Youth (iv) Tribal Youth (v) Youth At Risk (vi) Youth in violent conflicts (vii) out of school/dropouts (viii) groups with social /moral stigma (ix) Youth in Institutional Care. Young women, Youth belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged communities /groups, and differently abled youth form the three priority groups among the target age group.

ü    The Draft NYP 2012 proposes to change the target age group from the existing 13-35 years to 16-30 years. This change is proposed mainly to realign the definition of Youth with the prevailing international definitions. The definition of Youth as per UN is 15-24 years and as per Commonwealth, it is 15- 29 years.

ü    The concerns of target groups and the priority groups therein, shall be addressed through a subsequent action plan based on policy  interventions mentioned in the thrust areas of this policy.

ü    Draft NYP 2012 plans to divide broad age  bracket of 16-30 years into three groups- the first sub-group will be 16-20 years covering mostly youth who require educational facilities. The second sub-group is 20-25 years who require access to employable skills. The third sub-group 25-30 who require access to self employment and enterprenuerial skills.

ü    The draft NYP 2012 aims at empowering youth through skill development for enhancing employability and providing entrepreneurship opportunities through convergence with other Ministries/Departments.

ü    The thrust areas are promotion of National values, social harmony, national unity, empowering youth through employable skills, education , health, sports and recreation, gender justice, participation in community service, environment and local governance.

ü    The Draft NYP 2012 has monitorable indicators under five domains. Accordingly, Youth Development Index will include the indices viz. Youth Health Index, Youth Education Index, Youth Work Index, Youth Amenities Index, Youth Participation Index.

ü    The Draft NYP 2012 advocates establishment of strong coordination mechanism at the Centre and State Levels.
ü    The NYP 2012 proposes that Youth Policy be reviewed after every National Census