The ruling Congress is gearing up to hold a jobs mela in Bengaluru in the last week of January in keeping with one of the election promises the party had made during the May assembly polls. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who chaired a meeting on Friday to assess the preparedness for such a jobs fair, announced a team of ministers to plan and effectively organise the event.
Industries Minister MB Patil, IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, Labour Minister Santosh Lad, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Skill Development Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar and SC/ST Welfare Minister B Nagendra will be part of the team.
The CM asked the team to hold the event as promised in the manifesto as well as discuss with industries about devising long-term strategies to plug the skills gap in job aspirants. The CM also wants the team to explore employment opportunities for aspirants in overseas markets also.
Siddaramaiah asked the team to work on a policy on employment to improve the opportunities for the youth.
The government, on Dec 26, opened enrolments for degree and diploma holders under the Yuva Nidhi scheme to claim a monthly stipend for up to two years. The government said the youth, who passed out this year, but have not got a job for six months, are entitled to the allowance.The scheme was announced by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the election campaign. Only graduates of the 2023 batch will get Rs 3,000 per month for two years, whereas diploma holders of the batch will get Rs 1,500 per month. The scheme applies to third genders as well. The Congress government is speeding up on its promises on jobs fair and unemployment allowances, probably seeking to make jobs a central theme of the election campaign in Karnataka with the Lok Sabha polls months away.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for July 2022 to June 2023, however, indicates a declining trend, over the years, for unemployment rate in the country in both rural and urban areas.