One lakh unemployed youth will be provided soft loans and subsidies: CM

Kolkata: Mentioning Bengal's success in reducing unemployment rate in Bengal by 40 per cent when it is at an all time high in India, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stated on International Youth Day about her government's steps to provide soft loans and subsidies to one lakh unemployed youths to make them self-reliant.

Banerjee on Wednesday tweeted: "Today is International Youth Day. Government of West Bengal is committed to empowering the youth."

About the scheme to make youths self reliant Banerjee has stated: "A new scheme 'Karma Sathi Prakalpa' was launched by Bengal government. One lakh unemployed youth will be provided soft loans and subsidies to make them self-reliant."

The state has allocated Rs 500 crore for the current financial year that will be used to provide minimum Rs 2 lakh loan or subsidy to each youths through state-run Cooperative banks. Every year at least 1 lakh unemployed youths will be benefitted and they can utilise the financial support to set up small-scale manufacturing units.

She further stated in her tweet about the state's success in bringing down the unemployment rate despite the nationwide lockdown. She stated: "When then the unemployment rate in India is at an all-time high of 24per cent, unemployment rate in Bengal reduced by 40 per cent."

Successful implementation of 100-days work scheme and Banerjee's approach of imposing lockdown by giving equal importance to "life and livelihood" has helped in bringing down the unemployment rate in the state. More than 15 crore mandays have already been created in the first four months of the current fiscal and this has become possible with necessart steps taken by the state Panchayat and Rural Development department following direction of the Chief Minister.

She further stated in the tweet: "Youth of Bengal led the nation many times in the past and will continue to do so in the future. We are proud of our youth. They are the future. The new generation will take our nation forward. The youth are talented, skilful, hardworking. Their dreams of today will become a reality tomorrow."