Karnataka government prepares to launch 5th Congress guarantee Yuva Nidhi on 12 January

The government has promised to give ₹3,000 per month to degree holders and ₹1,500 per month to diploma holders who were unable to get a job in the past six months and were not pursuing their higher studies. The assistance will be paid for two years.

The event will be held on the birth anniversary of youth icon Swami Vivekananda on 12 January in Shivamogga.

A massive stage has been erected and seating arrangements have been made for over 85,000 people to attend the event, the organisers said.

ಯುವಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ದೇಶದ ಭವಿಷ್ಯವನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿದ್ದ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ ವಿವೇಕಾನಂದರ ಜನ್ಮದಿನದಂದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ಯುವನಿಧಿ ಯೋಜನೆಗೆ ಚಾಲನೆ ನೀಡುವ ಮೂಲಕ ವಿವೇಕಾನಂದರ ಕನಸಿನ ಯುವ ಭಾರತ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಮುಂದಡಿಯಿಡಲಿದೆ.

ಯುವನಿಧಿಯ ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಐದೂ ಗ್ಯಾರಂಟಿ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳು ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನಗೊಳ್ಳಲಿವೆ. ನಾಳೆ… pic.twitter.com/ac42ezjfEb

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 11, 2024

Also Read: Karnataka starts registration of Yuva Nidhi on 26 December

4 lakh youth to benefit

The Yuva Nidhi scheme is expected to be launched in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Skill Development Minister Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, ministers including Madhu Bangarappa and Dr MC Sudhakar, legislators, officials, and other dignitaries.

More than 1 lakh beneficiaries from Shivamogga, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru, Udupi, and Haveri districts are expected to take part in the event, which begins at 11 am.

The first allowance would be released soon after the launch of the programme, the organisers said.

The Department of Skill Development is spearheading the works related to the financial assistance scheme for unemployed graduates and diploma holders, which is estimated to benefit around 4 lakh youths across Karnataka.

Also read: Karnataka govt plans parallel system to monitor poll guarantees

Prerequisites for the scheme

While announcing the fifth guarantee in the run-up to the Assembly polls, the Congress had declared that the scheme would benefit all unemployed graduates and diploma holders.

However, the government altered its stance after coming to power. Now only those applicants who obtained a degree or diploma in 2023 and faced unemployment even after 180 days of completion of their education are eligible for the benefit under the scheme.

The dole will end soon after the applicant gets a job, the government said in a statement.

It added: “The applicants must not have held a job after six months of completing their studies in the 2022-23 academic year, must be a domicile of Karnataka, and must not enrolled in any Central or state-sponsored self-employment schemes.”

The state government had not yet disclosed the other criteria for the eligibility of this scheme.

The statement added that the unemployment allowance will be available until the applicant gets a job or for a maximum of two years from the date of application.

Application process

The applicant must possess an Aadhaar card, bank passbook, ration card, and mark sheets of SSLC, PUC, degree or diploma, it further said.

The applications can be submitted at Karnataka One, Grama One, Bapuji Seva Kendra, or Seva Sindhu portals.

Candidates are also required to prove domicile of Karnataka for a minimum of six years.

“The scheme is neither applicable for those who have enrolled for higher education and continuing studies nor applicable for those getting scholarships. The scheme is not applicable for those employed in government or private sectors,” the statement clarified.

The state government has earmarked ₹250 crore this year. It is expected that next year, it will cost ₹1,200 crore and from 2026 onwards the government will spend ₹1,500 crore annually on Yuva Nidhi.

The Congress government has already launched four of the five guarantees, which are Shakti, providing free rides to Karnataka women in non-luxury government buses; Anna Bhagya, offering 10 kg rice to BPL families; Gruha Jyoti, giving free electricity up to 200 units to household users; and Gruha Lakshmi, promising ₹2,000 a month to women heads of families having APL/BPL ration cards.

Also read: Karnataka government to launch 5th Congress guarantee — Yuva Nidhi

(With PTI inputs)