Important Changes Made to Unemployment allowance in Uttarakhand, launched on November 9, 2012. Below are they:

1) Uttarakhand has removed the cap of one person per family for Unemployment Allowance. Earlier, only eldest applicant in a family was entitled for such allowance.


2) For getting the allowance, Limit of the family income raised from Rs 1.5 to Rs 2.5  Lakh.

3) All those people who are registered with the unemployment exchange for at least four years would be entitled for the Unemployment Allowance in Uttarakhand, irrespective of their last qualification.
         
Bad changes:

Ask yourself what is the objective of Unemployment Allowance?

In my opinion, it can't be to Support the Unemployed. As - Rs 500 to intermediates, Rs 750 to graduates and Rs 1,000 to post-graduates - can never support them.

So what is the Objective?

The objective, in my opinion should be to help those youth, who currently studying and just 5 years away from a real job (3 year of Graduation + 2 Years of PG). Hence, if the Government really wants to make the scheme popular and useful, then it should offer employment allowance to anyone who is registered at Employment exchanges up to now. That's anyone who has registered himself even today or after 2005 should be included for Unemployment Allowance. This will probably include a person who passed class 12th in 2011 and those who did their PG in 2007. A 2 year generous period after Post Graduation, makes the base year as 2005.

It's useless to give unemployment allowance to any one beyond this 7 year period. As if they are still unemployed then, the allowance is not the Solution. Employment is.
         
Making the Scheme Populist will lead it to a Failure?

Failure Here, doesn't mean lack of sufficient takers; but the allowance going to the ones, who don't need it.

I'm talking about his change: For getting the allowance, Limit of the family income raised from Rs 1.5 Lakh to Rs 2.5 Lakh.

2.5 Lakh annual income means approx. 20,000 Rs a month salary. Ask yourself, does this person's children need Unemployment Allowance? In addition, if two children of such a family get the allowance, then two poor Youths, who actually need the allowance, will not get it (Money is a Resource and resources are always scarce.)

But now since many such beneficiaries will be added; the unemployment Allowance will be diverted from those who actually need it. I think, a youth in some Uttarakhand village or a youth in a any family, who doesn't have any member in useful employment; who passed out class 12th in 2011, is a better candidate for the unemployment Allowance.

I Think, Bahuguna Government's initial decision of 1.5 Lakh cap was better. But, BJP blamed the Government so much that it made it to rise it to 2.5 Lakh. Agree or disagree, BJP put a negative pressure on the Government. As a result, both the Government and the BJP made this Scheme Pro 'Handsomely Employed'. And as a result, Poor Youth in Uttarakhand will not get the benefit.

About Uttarakhand Government's Unemployment Scheme:

In order to restrict the number of beneficiaries, the government had  determined the criteria for availing the unemployment allowance under which youths must be in the 25-35 years age group and should have completed four years of registration with the unemployment exchange with effect from November 9, 2012.


The scheme had covered only 834 youths, or a tiny 0.11 per cent of the total population of the hill state,  within the first one month of its launch. This, despite Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna's claim that the government received nearly 4,000 applications.

However, the Chief Minister said the scheme would cover a total of 60,000 youths.

With the unemployment rising in the hill state, the government is finding an uphill task to cover all the educated unemployed youths who have been registered at the unemployment exchanges of the hill state. The government’s real worry is that out of the total 703,000 unemployed youths, who are registered at the unemployment exchange, more than 90 percent of them are educated ones.

One main reason for less beneficiaries is the norm which wants the candidate to have enrolled in Uttarakhand Employment Exchange before January 1, 2009.

There had been steep rise of nearly 140,000 unemployed youths compared to the last year’s figure of 565,000.

[ PS: A student just passed out of class 12th is not sensible enough to enroll himself/herself in the employment exchange, the very same year. He/she registers after one year or after graduation. Hence the Government should remove the 'up to 2009' cap and give any student the allowance, who even registered after 2009 to the current date. This will really make the Scheme effective.]

[ PS: With no Disrespect to anyone -- Indians as such are not transparent. Even those Indians, who are well off and don't need Subsidies and such allowances, don't voluntarily give up such subsidies and allowances. But they should remember one thing -- If after getting 2.5 Lakh a year; they tell their children to apply for Rs 500 per month allowance, then they are NOT helping the Poor, who really needs it. We Indians,  if we don't really need it, need a heart to let go the subsidies and allowances. That way, a poor brother or sister in our society will benefit. And that money means a lot to him/her.]
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