Eleventh Five Year Plan

42 Eleventh Five Year Planand Ninth Plans was on harnessing youth power byinvolving them in various community-based nationbuilding activities.2.1.4 The major thrust of the Tenth Five Year Plan wason involving the youth in the process of planning anddevelopment and making them a focal point of thedevelopment strategy, by providing proper educationaland training opportunities, access to information onemployment opportunities including entrepreneurialguidance and financial credit and the programmesfor developing among the youth qualities of leadership,tolerance, open mindedness, patriotism, etc. The NYKSwas to be expanded to cover all the districtsin the country together with expanding the networkof Youth Clubs to cover at least 50% of the more thansix lakh villages. At least one Youth DevelopmentCentre was to be set up in each of the country’s 6200blocks. Besides, 500 rural Information TechnologyYouth Development Centres were envisaged to be setup. The NSS was to be expanded to cover all degreecolleges and +2 schools, while the RSY was to extendits reach to 500 districts. RGNIYD was to be developedinto an apex national centre for information, documentation,research and training in respect of youthrelated issues. However, desired expansion and envisagedactivities for various institutes could not materializefully. Hence, the review of Planning Commissionsuggested restructuring and overhauling the institutionalarrangement to meet the stated goals. A majordrawback was the lack of involvement of State Governmentin various programmes of Ministry of YouthAffairs and Sports. Other dysfunctionalities includeover centralized system and procedures, acute problemsof utilization certificate, and sub-optimal performanceof scheme activities.2.1.5 The NSS has been included as one of thepriority areas under the National Common MinimumProgramme (NCMP), which emphasizes the needto provide opportunities for the youth to involvethemselves in national and social development througheducational institutions. Under the revised 20-PointProgramme, RSY and NSS have been made a partof the specific monitorable targets. The NSS motto‘you, not me’ seeks to invite a spirit of volunteerismand community service in youth minds.Review of Performance during the Tenth Plan2.1.6 As against the Tenth Plan outlay of Rs 677.64crore, an amount of Rs 642.06 crore was provided inthe annual plans and the aggregate expenditure wasRs 522.64 crore accounting for 77% of outlay and 81%of allocations (Annexure 2.1.1). The physical achievementsunder the various schemes were short of thetarget. The NYKS could not extend its activities beyond500 districts that were covered by end of the Ninth Plan.A logical linkage between grassroots youth organizationssuch as youth clubs, sports clubs, mahila mandals,etc., and NYKS could not fully materialize. Althoughthe progress of NSS has been relatively better, it hadnot kept pace with desired expansion to universities,colleges, and +2 school networks. RGNYID continuedto suffer teething problems and could start functioningonly during the latter part of Tenth Plan. Presently,there are 72 youth hostels, 18 are under construction,and 32 have been approved in-principle. Only a fewgovernment-owned youth hostels could get affiliationto the International Youth Hostels Association as theyfailed to meet the prescribed standards on accommodation,reception, hygiene, security, etc. The mega youthexchange programme with China, as a part of theactivities during the India–China Friendship Year, 2006,has however, been a major success.2.1.7 Considering huge and ever-increasing youthpopulation in India, and to achieve the goals set forthe Tenth Plan, the National Youth Policy 1998was replaced by a New National Youth Policy-2003with four thrust areas, viz. (i) Youth Empowerment;(ii) Gender Justice; (iii) Inter-sectoral Approach; and(iv) Information and Research Network.2.1.8 The policy accords priority to the followinggroups of young people including (i) Rural and TribalYouth; (ii) Out-of-School Youth; (iii) Adolescents,particularly female adolescents; (iv) Youth with disabilities;and (v) Youth under especially difficult circumstanceslike victims of trafficking, orphans, andstreet children.Approach and Strategy for the Eleventh Plan2.1.9 The Eleventh Plan envisages a holistic approachand comprehensive strategy to enable the developmentand realization of the full potential of the youth in the