Maken announced that the Draft NYP 2012 is first of its kind as it recognises youth not as 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, Maken said during a press conference here.
He added that 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 is 15-29 years.
Giving details, Maken 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.
Maken also announced that the changing scenario in the country due to globalisation, 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, Maken added. (MORE)