SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday distributed more than 51,000 appointment letters to newly recruited youth across various government organisations at the 20th Rozgar Mela, held through video conferencing.
Addressing the new appointees, Modi said their appointments marked a new beginning and highlighted the efforts of the candidates and sacrifices made by their families. He urged them to contribute towards the government’s objective of building a developed and self-reliant India by 2047.
The Prime Minister said the younger generation has a significant role in shaping administrative decisions and responding to growing global expectations from Indian innovators, entrepreneurs and youth.
Referring to the recently concluded BRICS Summit, Modi said the government was seeking to expand international cooperation beyond traditional government-to-government engagement. He cited BRICS CONNECT and the BRICS MSME Cooperation Portal as initiatives intended to involve entrepreneurs, farmers, women and young people in international partnerships.
He also said Free Trade Agreements with around 40 countries were creating new markets and opportunities for domestic businesses while opening further career prospects for young people.
On skill development, Modi highlighted the National Education Policy, Skill India Mission, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and measures to promote apprenticeships. He said the PM-SETU scheme was aimed at modernising 1,000 government Industrial Training Institutes with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore and participation from industry.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the expansion of India’s startup ecosystem, describing the country as the world’s third-largest startup hub. He said nearly half of recognised startups were now based in tier-two and tier-three cities, with young people in smaller towns increasingly establishing businesses and generating employment.
On private-sector employment, Modi referred to the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, a Rs 1 lakh crore initiative aimed at bringing two crore young people into the formal workforce for the first time. Under the scheme, first-time employees can receive incentives of up to Rs 15,000, while employers creating additional jobs are also eligible for financial incentives.
Linking employment generation with economic growth, Modi cited a 7.8 per cent growth rate and a 12 per cent rise in investment during the first quarter. He said the reforms undertaken in recent years had contributed to India’s economic growth despite global uncertainties.
Addressing the newly appointed employees, the Prime Minister called for continued reforms in tax compliance, ease of doing business, education and skilling, as well as greater opportunities for innovation. He urged them to ensure that the pace of administrative reforms continued during their tenure.
Modi also asked the recruits to use their authority to remove obstacles for young people, entrepreneurs and investors, saying administrative decisions should facilitate innovation and employment generation.
He urged the new employees to draw on the difficulties they had experienced before entering government service and work to ensure that other young people did not face similar hurdles.
The Prime Minister further called for continuous learning and technological upskilling under the Mission Karmayogi framework. He said the Karmayogi Prarambh module had been designed to help new entrants understand the government system, while 1.7 crore employees were already enrolled on the iGOT platform.
Emphasising the importance of public trust, Modi said the conduct and efficiency of government employees directly affect citizens accessing pensions, scholarships, subsidies and other services.
He called upon the recruits to follow the principle of ‘Nagrik Devo Bhava’—the citizen is divine—and said their success would be measured by their ability to make people’s lives easier.
