Prime objective is to empower the youth of country: Ahsan Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, OCT 21 /DNA/ – The Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiative has geared up the process to implement the five major Youth Development Initiatives announced by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday.  

“Empowering the underprivileged youth by drastically increasing opportunities for their education, training and employability is critical for the future of Pakistan,” said the minister after the launch of these initiatives.

The five ‘Young Development Initiatives’ were launched to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence Day of Pakistan. The five key initiatives include 200,000 Internships for Young Engineers, Uplifting of the 20-poor Districts of Pakistan, Establishment of 250 Mini Sport Complexes, Establishment of Pakistan Innovation Fund, and 75 National Top Talent Scholarships Programme.

“Only by privatizing the state investment in the young people, we can turn Pakistan’s youth bulge from a liability into an asset, ” said Professor Ahsan Iqbal, while highlighting the significance of the initiatives.

Under the National Development Internships Programme, 20,000 young engineers will be hired in PSDP funded projects to improve their skills and employability. The programme envisages paid on-the-job training for fresh young graduates in various fields. 

Similarly, the uplifting of 20 Poorest Districts of Pakistan is the second key initiative of the minister.  Under this programme, the 20 poor districts of the country particularly, Balochistan and FATA will be uplifted and a package of Rs 40billion has been allocated this year.

Under the Youth Development Initiatives, the construction of Mini Sports Complexes is also a major step aimed to increase the facilities of sports for the youth and Rs 1000 million have been allocated in PSDP 2022-23 for this project, said the minister, while highlighting the importance of the initiative.

Pakistan Innovation Fund to be established and the objectives of the project include; to prepare a framework for effective innovation policy for the country including identification of factors that lead to positive and effective innovative regulatory processes. In this regard, an Innovation Support Project has also been initiated under PSDP 2022-23 for which Rs 10 billion has been allocated.

The fifth initiative is the 75 National Top Talent Scholarships Programme which provides Pakistani students with Master and PhD degrees in top 50 universities of the wo\rld.  In this regard, Rs 4.7b has been allocated for this project to encourage and prepare talented students from low-income families who aspire for higher education but cannot apply for the admission in top universities due to lack of finances.

The PM Shahbaz Sharif appreciated the minister for taking this great initiative, and asked him to expand such projects across the country. I assure you my complete support to finance such projects which actually empowers the youth, he concluded.