Jobless in Rajasthan to get RS 3,000 a month dole from March 1

JAIPUR: Keeping his poll promise, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot announced on Thursday that his newlyfor med gover nment will roll out the monthly allowance scheme for educated, unemployed youth from March 1.

“It was in my previous tenure that I had introduced a scheme to distribute unemployment allowance of Rs 600, now we have decided to raise it the assistance. The countdown begins from tomorrow, February 1. From March 1, unemployed boys will get Rs 3,000 and girls Rs 3,500 monthly unemployment allowance,” he said at the inauguration of a student union office at Rajasthan University.

A CMO statement released later claimed the new scheme is likely to benefit one lakh educated youth in the state and cost the exchequer an estimated Rs 525 crore.

In the run up to the recently-concluded assembly elections, both BJP and Congress had promised unemployment doles. While Congress had promised a monthly stipend of Rs 3,000-3,500, BJP had assured Rs 5,000.

Rajasthan is one of the worst performers in terms of generating employment. According to the December 2018 report of the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in the state went up to 7.7% last year. The report claimed that every sixth youth in the state was unemployed and about two crore youngsters in the age bracket of 21 to 35 years are jobless.

Currently, the government gives an unemployment dole of Rs 650 per month to boys and Rs 750 to girls under the Rajasthan Unemployed Allowance Scheme, 2012 which was put on the back burner by the former BJP government.

Launched by Gehlot during his second tenure as CM, the scheme was extended to only those unemployed youths whose family income was less than Rs 2 lakh per annum. “About 70,000 youngsters are reaping the benefits of the existing scheme. The state is yet to finalise the eligibility criteria under the new schemes, which is likely to be named Mukhyamantri Yuva Sambal Yojna,” confirmed a state government officer.

Presently, West Bengal has two separate schemes for unemployed youth and another for closed factory workers. In both cases, monthly stipend is Rs 1,500-2,000. The allowance ranges from Rs 150 to Rs 600 in Punjab. Haryana provides Rs 900 to Class XII-passed and Rs 1,500 has been fixed for graduates and post-graduates. Allowance in Kerala is Rs 1,440 per annum (Rs 120 per month). Tamil Nadu gives Rs 600/ month to Class X pass youths, Rs 750 to Class 12 pass-outs and Rs 1,000 to graduates.