Youths must be entrepreneurs: Arunachal CM Pema Khandu

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government is working to encourage youths to be entrepreneurs rather than striving for government jobs, which is a British-era mindset, said Chief Minister Pema Khandu while marking the 35th Statehood Day at the Indira Gandhi Park here on Saturday.

Addressing the gathering, Khandu pointed out that the mantras of 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat', 'Vocal for Local' and 'Make in India' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi depends solely on the skill development of the youths.

Keeping in mind the three directives, the State government has embarked on various schemes and policies to develop the skills of the youth so that the State becomes self-reliant, he said.

''The government has given thrust on various skill development programmes to enable the youths to venture in entrepreneurship programmes without going for a government job -- a mindset of the British-era,'' said Khandu.

In the last six years, the State witnessed a steep development trajectory after the BJP-led NDA government came to power at the Centre, added Khandu.

The Prime Minister gave top priority to the development of Arunachal Pradesh as well as the entire Northeast region, which was earlier neglected, he said.

''Various Central schemes are going on in the State, especially the ambitious Trans Arunachal Highway (TAH), railway and air connectivity, including the much-hyped greenfield airport at Hollongi, which the government has targeted to complete by August next year,'' added the Chief Minister.

Khandu also said that the Centre has sanctioned a project to connect 4,600 villages in the State with 4G service. ''For the remaining villages, the State government will soon submit a memorandum to the Centre,'' he said.

Referring to the huge hydro power potential of the State, Khandu mentioned that in the past few years progress in the sector was significant. ''The 600 MW Kameng Hydro Project in West Kameng district has been completed and will be inaugurated soon by the Prime Minister,'' he said, adding that the government has decided to harness the hydropower potential to the maximum by taking into confidence the local communities and taking extra care of the environment.

He also said that the development pace in the State slowed down in the last one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commending the Healthcare workers and other stakeholders for efficiently tackling the pandemic, Khandu stated that because of the team efforts, the State earned the distinction of having the highest recovery and lowest mortality rate in the country.

''We have decided to dovetail all the Central schemes in the Health sector for creating infrastructure,'' he said.

Pointing to the dismal performance of the State's Education sector, Khandu said that the focus of the government at present is to overhaul it. ''The state has more than 3,000 schools but the quality of education is very poor,'' he lamented, adding that the government has decided to introduce chapters on the State's history, culture and traditions in school textbooks.

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