State lists steps taken for Marathi youth

Devraj Dasgupta I tnn

Mumbai: Desperate to prove that it's doing enough for unemployed Marathi youth, state officials on Thursday explained the range of activities undertaken regularly. Right from a dedicated job website to running training courses and holding job fairs, the government claims its doing everything possible for the Marathi youth.

Trying to take away the thunder from Raj Thackeray's campaign, the state government has been trying hard to prove its support for unemployed youth. Last Monday, it revived a three-decade-old Government Resolution (GR) calling for 80% reservation for locals in manufacturing facilities. Later, it pointed out that the state had cleared more than 131 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state which would generate 59 lakh jobs.

On Thursday, the officials of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said they had created a successful job website called `Rojgar Vahini'. The website, albeit not new, allows people to register themselves for employment. It has the usual links found in any job website, except that 70% of the vacancies listed on the website are either in the state or central governments. A few jobs in private companies are listed on the website.

CMO officials said its Directorate of Employment and Self-employment has been running training courses for the unemployed. Centers also provide information on competitive exams.

Also, the state said that the higher and technical education department is tying up with the chambers of commerce and industries to impart training in required skill sets to candidates across state districts.