Modi Planning Military Training Plan for Disciplined Youth

Govt to impart military training to 10 lakh young men and women every year with incentives.

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is planning to impart military training to 10 lakh disciplined young men and women every year.

According to the proposal, the scheme will instil values of nationalism, discipline and self-esteem into the youth, which, in turn will help make India a “Vishwaguru” (read a universal leader) and achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of New India 2022.

The highlights of the new bill called National Youth Empowerment Scheme or N-YES are:

Eligibility: Class X and XII and, currently, enrolled in college.

Incentives: a fixed stipend for the 12-month training.

Making N-YES an “essential qualification” for jobs in Defence, paramilitary forces and police.

Focus to be on youth in rural areas.

The military training programme has been proposed at a time the Opposition has launched an attack on the union government for not creating adequate and appropriate job opportunities for the youth.

The bill that was discussed in the Union Cabinet says that the move is to have a “disciplined” and nationalist “force of youth,” according to The Indian Express.

The scheme was discussed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the last week of June and was attended by representatives of the Defence Ministry, Department of Youth Affairs and Human Resource Development Ministry.

A presentation on N-YES was made by an officer of Defence Ministry.

Some officers who attended the meeting raised reservations on the new plan and suggested strengthening the existing National Cadet Corps or NCC, instead of another force.

In addition to military training, those enrolled will be taught vocational and IT skills, disaster management and Indian values though yoga, ayurveda and ancient Indian philosophy.

To finance this scheme, it was proposed that the government could use the existing budget meant for NCC and National Service Scheme (NSS), funds available with the Skill Development Ministry and also MNREGA funds.