OREANDA-NEWS.  The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Sarbananda Sonowal has said that the Government had launched a new Scheme namely National Youth Corps (NYC) in the country during the year 2010, with the aim to create a space enabling young men and women in the age group of 18-25 years, to serve up to two years in nation-building activities, for which they are paid suitable honorarium. The objectives of the Scheme are as under:

· To setup a group of disciplined and dedicated youth who have the inclination and spirit to engage in the task of nation building.

· To facilitate the realization of inclusive growth (both social and economic)

· To act as points for dissemination of information, basic knowledge in the community

· To act as group modulators and peer group educators

· To act as role models for the younger cohort especially towards enhancement of public ethics,   probity and dignity of labour.

The main features of NYC Scheme are as follows:

                  i.          The minimum qualification for enrolment as NYC volunteer is class-X passed

                ii.          Volunteers are paid honorarium @ Rs. 2500/- per month.

              iii.           The selection of NYC volunteers is done by a Selection Committee, headed by District Collector/Deputy Commissioner of the concerned District.

              iv.          The volunteers are given 15 days training, in two spells and  their services are utilised for various nation-building activities for maximum 2 years. In the last quarter of the 2nd year, they are provided skill development training so that they can get some employment after their term with NYKS ends.

                v.          After 2 years, another set of NYC volunteers are recruited.

              vi.          The Scheme guidelines also stipulate that the NYC volunteers shall have no claim or right for any regular employment to any post under the deploying agency/department. In fact, the volunteers are required to give undertraining to the effect that their engagement will be purely on voluntary basis and they shall have no right/claim for employment in the deploying Agency/Department.

            vii.          The Scheme is fully funded by the Government of India.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Shri Sonowal said, normally, 2 NYC volunteers are deployed per block of the country. The State/UT wise details of volunteers deployed and the amount allocated/spent under the Scheme during each of the last 3 years and current years are given in Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

As per the Scheme guidelines, the volunteers engaged under the Scheme are to be deployed in the existing Schemes/programmes of the Ministry and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and collaborative programmes with other Ministries/Departments of the Government of India. This Ministry/NYKS have not been mandated with the cleaning of river Ganga, the Minister added.