Youth Affairs - Good Policy, Dispirit Programme!

G S Oinam *

Life without good parenting, family support or money is very dangerous. We have realized that it is not easy to pull off a business without the guidance of seasonal players in the field." Today's Youths Tomorrow Leaders" is the cornerstone of every slogan in a fashionable manner but what actually we support to our youth is the matter of concern.

When we look at great leaders this world has had in real life, they all have had an exceptional personality associated with them. The moment we look at them, we tend to get an urge to follow what they say and do what they ask to do. Consider leaders like Martin Luther, Sir Richard Branson, Mahatma Gandhi and Neta Irabot in Manipur, all of them have charisma associated with that makes them stand tall than any other fellow being.

Major threats to our youths are Drugs /alcohol and HIV/AIDS, atrocities from insurgency--physical, moral and mental, and lack of employment opportunities and skills development. Our elders are worried about their children's future. After prolong mental stress and tensions for children, they lost mental balances and creativity and finally—a mental ailment commonly called a mental health problem, are found among our elders!

Also, many cases of Alzheimer disease are recently detected in our elders in Manipur. Physical exercise of middle age and elder people in the state is mostly ignored. Light exercise, yoga, diet control, interaction and outdoor visit, expert consultancy etc. will be helpful to control mental stress. Mind and body are interrelated. If we do not know the skills of yoga, do simply dancing.

Dance and music are also a part of exercise both for mind and body. The fact is that writers are also addicted in writing and almost affected 25% Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptom after reading Manipur news for years. Doctor's prescription – stop reading Manipur news then your mind will be free! Simply facial treatment by ointments for your black spots on your face will not cure the diseases completely. We must check the liver; stomach and dieting, vitamin supplements for a complete cure of black spots on your face rather than ointment treatment. Otherwise, it is called a symptom treatment but not the actual treatment of the disease.

For the second time, Ph Parijat, Minister of Health and Family welfare, pointed out that the number of mental health problems in insurgency affected Manipur has been on the rise. The problem is not the money which many people have to cough out to get a relief, but the mental turmoil and fear psychosis which people have to bear that is actually causing the mental health problems have turned to alcohol as a gateway."

It's time for relevant experts to do a detailed study on the impacts/sufferings caused to the mental health of the people by the existing issue of insurgency," Ph. Parijat said on the World Mental Health Day. For which, Planning Department must have budgetary provision for research studies. Research materials/findings can not be publishing wholly or partly without the permission of sponsored organizations.

Indian youth policy defined a well meaningful rational youth policy both for rural and urban areas, however, the most important modern programme of "talent hunt "are excluded in the policy making. Despite of "talent hunt' programme in sports ministry, India's performance in sports is far from satisfaction. Because, most of the players are belongs to poor family.

"National Youth Award " is carrying a cash prize of 20,000/- and the method of selection is made on the recommendation from district selection committee level to state level and finally Youth Affairs Ministry will select the best awardees. Cash prize tag on National Youth Award is just mockery and the selection shall be made on competition so that our youth will motivate in competition.

Schemes are distributed in the manner of part - part basis. One youth will get the youth leadership training, another youth will get vocational training, some one will joined in youth festival and remaining youths will get lecturers of out reach programme. For example, one child will get shirt, another will get one pair of shoes and the rest will get ties.

Our youth will not be perfect and uniform. Our youths will need a complete set. These rational schemes are good as refresher courses in normal time. Beside, budget and scheme guidelines need to be check in an appropriate manner. We have found many black listed NGOs and NGOs unable to submit utilization certificate for the programme in the ministry website. Why there are many NGOs unable to conduct programmes, and rapidly default or any loop holes in the scheme guidelines and appropriate budget need to be check in time. Our policy makers are not looking the TV reality shows like big boss, Indian idols, ZTV Sa-re-ga-ma programmes etc.

Budget allocation for the National Programme for Youth and Adolescence Development (NPYAD) for 20010-11 is 24.50 crore only, in which Manipur will get around three or four programme at an average budget of 1.5--3 lakh per programme. North East youth corps budget for 2010-11 is only 4.50 crore for 20,000 youth's deployment. RGNIYD programme schedule for the year 2010-11 are excluded Manipur. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) has some special programmes for skills development and adolescence and special programme for NE like music concert, Bharat Parikrma, street theatre and youth club placement programme etc. However, the programmes are unknown in Manipur.

Recently, National Leadership Foundation in collaboration with IIM Kozhikode, with support of Talent Bridge announces A Youth Leadership Summit: SMILO 2010 (Self Mastery in Life and Organization). SMILO, a leadership discovery summit from July 16-18, 2010 in Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala would be a rejuvenating three day workshop aimed at providing a platform for motivated youngsters in India to Discover themselves, Decode their talents and Deliver exceptional value to the country. The workshop was designed and led by Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Founder, National Leadership Foundation, and currently Director of IIM Kozhikode.

Times of India's initiative of "Lead India" youth leadership Programme is an example of excellent programme. The programme has provided benefits not only to the participants /contestants but also an inspiration to our youths and challenges of life. State like Manipur will not able to conduct such type of project and untimely even if we have the money and willingness to conduct the programme. The most appropriate programme will be a holistic set of programme for youth mentoring as well as youth Chaperone contest.

The programme must include 21st century life skills, vocational training (local resource base), leadership training, out reach programme, individual assessment programme, seminar and workshop, Physical education &cultural programme, talent hunt and contest etc. Finally, we will come to the stage of "lead Manipur youth leadership contest" But, who will sponsor the programme? The programme is beyond Youth Affairs Ministry guideline, we will not get any monetary support from the ministry.

Well, Airtel did sponsored on fashion show in Manipur for about 50,000 only last years. However, Airtel will not mind to spend 50 lakhs sponsorship for one music concert in Guwahati. Other telecom service providers operating in Manipur like Vodaphone, Aircell, Reliance, and BSNL etc are not providing sponsorship programme (CSR) in Manipur.

Shri S.K. Gang, Chairman &Managing Director, NHPC, was blowing his own trumpet on the 34th Annual General Body meeting in September 2010 that NHPC focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme in the area of health, education, peripheral development, sports and culture, development of employment opportunities etc. for community living in and around the power stations and construction projects.

Loktak Hydro project, Manipur is a NHPC project. Are they providing CSR programme in Manipur? Why we should not ask for programme sponsorship to NHPC? Beside, there are many public and private sector companies spending fund for CSR about 2% of company net profits. But, none of the company CSR programmes are extended in Manipur except TATA Company's motor driving school in Imphal and some small, small sponsorship of SBI.

Shri Salman Khursheed, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs said that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an area of immense interest both in our country as well as globally. In recent months, there has been a great deal of discussion on what CSR actually means as well as its reach and impact on stakeholders.

To begin with the "Voluntary Guideline" released by the president of India during the corporate week 2009 have been made public for discussion amongst corporate and stakeholders. The present companies Bill 2009 upon which the standing committee has recently released its report, may well take CSR further into mandatory compliance as indeed the public sector companies are already mandated to do. This is a creative area and the next few months are going to be crucial.

In 1991, The Champions of Excellence programme was designed to improve the graduation rates and remove the financial barriers to higher education for a group of children in Houston, Texas (USA). Many of these students became outstanding leaders continuously maintaining a 3.0 GPA, collectively contributing more than 10,700 hours of community services, and participating in various live events and leadership programs offered by Tony Robbins and the Foundation.

Tony Robbin's 'Youth Mentor' programme conceived in business people, community leaders and educators would be partnered with young people within their local community in a mentoring relationship. Manipur must initiate such type of programme. Let the other state learn from Manipur!

Second thought; State Planning Department in associate with Youth Affair Department, Manipur can sponsor the programme. The programme budget will be around 14--15 lakhs for selected 30 competitors (after preliminary round of selection) including Youth Chaperone Award which is less than planning department sponsorship fee of 60,000 per candidate for skin beauty skills development programme conducted by Surya Vinayak Wellness ltd, Noida .

Now, the hair beauty, skin beauty skills development programme are providing by ministry of Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises, Okhala Industrial Estate, Delhi without and course fee. Students will get 500/- stipend per month. Reputed companies are also providing training programme to the fresher employees.

We are not looking how many officials are looting public fund and the percentage they did collected from others. We are just looking only how wisely our government is utilizing public fund and purposefully. If not, you will be poorer even the public fund belongs to your family. Our people want demonstration rather than writing; they want deeds and not words!

In conclusion, Manipur should not be a collection of individuals; Manipur must be united. People to people exchange programme will provide us integration in the mind other than physical territorial integrity; and the integration must be solid. Our future goal must have broad based scope and horizon to conquer India in every department and defeat the entire world. We, ourselves must have to build our own home; no one will come to build our home when we remained idle!

Download the entire Youth Policy and Programme of India here (PDF - 167 KB)