A meeting of the Consultative Committee chaired by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Jitendra Singh was held here today to discuss the National Youth Policy-2012.
Addressing the meeting, Jitendra said that the Youth Policy was of extreme relevance as the current year was being observed as the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the youth icon of the country.
"This will be a befitting tribute by declaring the Youth Policy of the country. The goal of the Youth Policy is to empower the youth of the Nation by bringing a holistic development, whereby every youth should be able to grow to their potential, fulfil their aspirations and remain healthy and active and participative," the minister said in a release.
"As skill development is the thrust of the Nation and following the national objectives, Ministry of Youth Affairs is proposing to declare 2013-14 as the Year for Skill Development of the Youth," he said.
The Youth Policy proposes to follow the age group of the United Nations and Commonwealth youth age criteria of 16-30 years. The target groups are student youth, urban youth, rural youth, tribal youth, youth at risk, youth in conflict, youth out of school, youth with social stigma and youth in institutional care.
The priority groups are young women, socially and economically disadvantaged youth and differently-abled youth.
Jitendra said that the unique feature of the Youth Policy was monitorable indicators under five domains -- Youth Health Index, Youth Education Index, Youth Amenities Index and Youth Participation Index -- which constitute the Youth Development Index.
"The Youth Policy advocates establishment of strong coordination mechanism between the Centre and the states. Youth being a state subject, there is an urgent need for evolving a Youth Policy at the state level in consonance with National Youth Policy. The National Youth Policy will be reviewed after every census," said Jitendra.
