Jobs to exam coaching help: How CMs are responding to youth discontent

UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced a new youth policy to strengthen the skills, innovation abilities, and employment of youngsters between 16 and 35 years old. “The government has taken strict action against the cheating mafia and recruitment mafia, and the state’s demographic dividend is being transformed into a ‘development engine’. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, work has been rapidly advanced in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, semiconductors, startup ecosystem, data centres, defence manufacturing, cyber, robotics, electric vehicles, agritech, fintech, deep tech and med tech. This is opening new avenues for investment, innovation and employment,” he said.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the “Mukhya Mantri Yuva Bhavishya Nirman Yojana (scheme to build the future of the youth)”, allocating Rs 7 crore for it, to improve the opportunities of government school students as they prepare for competitive examinations. In the first phase of this scheme, free online coaching will be provided to 10,000 students in Classes 11 and 12.

Dhami also announced a “Yuva Ayog (youth commission)” and that the “Mukhya Mantri Yuva Swarojgar aur Udhamita Protsahan Yojana (youth self-employment and entrepreneurship incentive scheme)” will be launched for those in the 18-30 age group. The government has also announced a bravery award for children, the Baal Veerta Puraskar.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant announced that more than 2,000 jobs will be offered to youngsters through the Goa Staff Selection Commission.

A BJP leader in UP said the recent protests in Delhi had brought the problem of paper leaks and unemployment to the drawing rooms of every household. “If the discussion continues for a long time, or a fresh agitation starts, that will certainly damage us electorally. The results of the government’s initiatives and measures to prevent paper leaks will be seen in the future, but the announcements and promises by the PM and CMs will hopefully offset some of the damage and help the party win the trust of youths,” he said.

A senior BJP leader in Uttarakhand said that while unemployment was an issue in the hill state too, like in the rest of the country, paper leaks were not. “Still, announcements by the CM have been made to convince the youths that the government is taking steps for their employment and skill development and that they should not fall into the trap of the Opposition that is trying to mislead them.”

Dhami, he said, had held dialogue with students from both high schools as well as colleges and universities — those who would be categorised as Gen Alpha and Gen Z — on their campuses in the last 10 days and sought their suggestions on varied issues, including syllabus, the exam system, and competitive exams.

Like in the states going to elections early next year, announcements poured in from other BJP-ruled states too:

Gujarat: In the state where elections are due in late 2027, CM Bhupendra Patel announced that “for youth from the non-creamy layer section (in reserved categories), the family’s annual income limit for foreign study loans has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh”.

Assam: In his 11 resolutions for a Viksit (developed) Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a new department of “youth empowerment and development” would work for youth welfare. Sarma, however, said he doesn’t believe in demographic concepts such as Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) or Gen Alpha (born after 2012). “These are concepts from Western culture. For me, they are my sons and daughters. For our new generation, we have a responsibility to work for them and use the state’s resources.”

Bihar: Samrat Choudhary announced a State Examination Reforms Committee to make exams smooth, transparent, fair, and modern. A “student support portal” will be launched on August 17 to help redress students’ grievances within 30 days, said the CM.

Chhattisgarh: CM Vishnu Deo Sai announced a “CG Assistant for Competitive Exam” scheme to provide financial and logistical support to youth preparing for major competitive tests.

Madhya Pradesh: CM Mohan Yadav said his government had decided to observe 2027 as “Yuva varsh (year of the youth)” and focus on quality education, skill development, entrepreneurship and self-employment, employment opportunities in public and private sectors, support for start-ups, and promote sports, arts, culture, research and innovation, and leadership skills.

Rajasthan: Though there were no youth-specific announcements in Rajasthan, CM Bhajanlal Sharma held an interactive session with youngsters in Bikaner. He assured them his government was fully committed to their all-round development.

Opposition-ruled states join in

Not just the BJP-ruled states, Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, where INDIA bloc parties Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress are in power, also made a pitch to the youth. Himachal Pradesh is set to go to polls later next year.

“Our Congress government provided government jobs to thousands of youths and ensured transparency in the recruitment process. During our tenure, not a single recruitment paper was leaked, whereas during the previous BJP government’s tenure, the police recruitment paper was leaked and large-scale irregularities occurred in the Staff Selection Commission’s recruitments, to the extent that papers were even sold,” said Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The CM said his government took strict action against those who tampered with the future of the youth, dissolved the Subordinate Selection Board, and ensured that those responsible were in jail.

In Jharkhand, where students are protesting alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPCS) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations, CM Hemant Soren, who is under pressure, said that protecting the dreams of Jharkhand youths was his personal responsibility.

Terming paper leaks and irregularities in examinations a serious matter confronting the entire country, Soren said he had acted against the guilty and would ensure reforms in the system. “Fair inquiry will be done and law will take action against the guilty,” he said.

Soren also said his government had initiated an interactive programme, “Chhatron Ki Baat — Chhatron Ke Sath (discussing student issues with students)”, to seek the students’ suggestions to improve the education system.