)
With focus on skill development and drug de-addiction, Punjab Finance Minister, Parminder Singh Dhindsa (pictured) on Wednesday presented the state Budget with an annual plan outlay of Rs 20,100 crore for 2014-15, an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year. The state government has allocated over Rs 500 crore for the skill development of 300,000 youths in the state and also proposed to set up a rehabilitation centre in each district at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
As far as allocation of plan is concerned, the social services sector tops the list with 41.17 per cent allocation followed by energy with 16.08 per cent and transport with 13.38 per cent.
In his budget speech, the finance minister said, "The state government shall make efforts towards skilling approximately 300,000 youth at a cost of over Rs 500 crore during the current year by utilizing the training capacity of various government and private institutions as well as engaging with other reputed private training centres. The state government will also enter into a partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the implementation of various skill development schemes and initiatives in the state."
He added that the state government in partnership with corporate houses has already set up construction development centre (with L&T), driving and automotive skill centre (with Tata Motors) at Muktsar and Training Centre in Retail marketing (with Bharti-WalMart) in Amritsar. The state government has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Sons to improve and upgrade six Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
The state government also proposes to set up a Multi Skill Development Centre (MSDC) in collaboration with the private sector at Ludhiana with a training capacity of 10,000 candidates per annum. The MSDC will be set up in accordance with the global standards and will be a training-cum-production centre.
In addition to this, the government will strengthen and upgrade the existing skill training infrastructure and will work with reputed private training centres towards meeting the skill development requirements of the state
On drug de-addiction, the minister said that the government proposes to set up a rehabilitation centre in each district at a cost of Rs 100 crore. It is worth mentioning that rising drug menace in the state was one of the reason behind bad performance of ruling Akali-BJP allinace during the Lok Sabha polls.
He added that the state intends to take a holistic approach to this menace by adopting various measures which include educating parents or other care-takers, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, health professionals, and business and community leaders to help youth wean from illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco use. In addition, the state government would also strengthen law enforcement mechanism to combat drug-related violence, illegal organizations that supply drugs and arrest the leaders of illegal drug syndicate. He mentioned that the state government is confident that in the coming two years we will wipe out this scourge from our state.
MOVE TO REVITALISE THE SOCIAL SECTOR
- The annual plan outlay for 2014-15 stands at Rs 20,100 crore, an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year's plan
- The state government has allocated Rs 500 crore for skill development of 300,000 youth
- Proposes to set up rehabilitation centre in each district at a cost of Rs 100 crore
- Social services sector tops the list with 41.17 per cent allocation followed by energy with 16.08 per cent and transport with 13.38 per cent
