Eye on Bihar poll, PM rolls out Rs 62,000-cr schemes for youth

Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a slew of youth-oriented initiatives worth over Rs 62,000 crore, including a major expansion of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for skill development and new research labs to promote entrepreneurship.

Addressing the event through video-conferencing from Delhi, the PM accused the RJD-Congress alliance of derailing Bihar’s education system during their rule. He said the NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had worked hard to bring it “back on track”.

“This generation may not know how badly Bihar’s education system suffered around two-and-a-half decades ago. Schools barely functioned and recruitments were unfair. Which parent wouldn’t want their child to study and succeed here? Yet millions had to migrate to Varanasi, Delhi and Mumbai for education — that was the real beginning of the exodus,” the PM said. Drawing an analogy, he added, “Reviving a tree whose roots have been eaten away by worms is no easy task. RJD’s misrule had left Bihar in such a condition. Fortunately, the people trusted Nitish Kumar, and we all have seen how the NDA worked together to rebuild the system.”

During the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh held here, PM Narendra Modi announced the launch of two major national initiatives for youth across the country in education and skill development. He said under the Rs 60,000 crore PM SETU scheme, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) will be more closely integrated with industries.

The PM said the government was focused on both —increasing the number of ITIs and upgrading them. He noted that until 2014, the country had only about 10,000 ITIs, but nearly 5,000 more have been set up over the past decade.

For Bihar, Modi announced a series of initiatives, including a redesigned Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, expansion of facilities in state universities, formation of a new Youth Commission and distribution of appointment letters for permanent government jobs to thousands of young people.

The PM inaugurated the Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur Skill University, which has been envisioned to impart industry-oriented courses and vocational education to create a globally competitive workforce.

He also inaugurated 1,200 vocational skill labs established in 400 Navodaya Vidyalayas and 200 Eklavya Model Residential Schools across 34 states and union territories. Modi took a veiled swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is often lauded by his party members as ‘Jan Nayak’, an honorific associated with former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur.

Modi cautioned people against “attempts to steal the Jan Nayak honour given by the people to the great socialist icon”. Thakur was not bestowed the title of Jan Nayak by social media trolls, but it is a reflection of people’s love for him, he added.

The PM said the Centre and the state government were working together to modernise Bihar’s educational institutions. Infrastructure expansion has begun at IIT-Patna while modernisation of several other universities across the state is underway. New academic facilities have been launched at Patna University, Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University, Jai Prakash University in Chhapra and Nalanda Open University, he added.

Highlighting Bihar’s youthful demographic, Modi said, “India is among the world’s youngest nations, and Bihar has one of the highest proportions of youth. When the potential of Bihar’s youth grows, the nation’s strength multiplies.”