Working of Self-Employment Schemes for Educated Unemployed Youth- A study of select districts of Telangana Region in AP1

I. Introduction

INDIAN ECONOMY HAS been facing challenges with regard to unemployment and economic growth. By and large, unemployment in India is structural in organised sector. During the past four decades, population of India has grown at an alarming rate of around 2.2 per cent per annum, whereas employment opportunities have not been increased correspondingly due to slow economic growth. However, the removal of unemployment has been a proclaimed objective of Indian economic plans. The problem of unemployment is perceived to be conflicting with the economic growth. Though with degrees of difference, every Five-Year Plan focused its attention on the removal of unemployment.

While, the economic policies of the country continued to undergo changes in the form of shifting the focus from economic growth to employment or vice-versa, in accordance with the changing needs of the society over a period of time, the mounting pressure of unemployment, particularly educated unemployment compelled the governments to undertake Special Employment Programmes under different heads. These Special Employment Programmes are mostly supplementary to the main Five Year Plans.

Further, to mitigate unemployment problem in educated youth, both Central and State Governments implemented some special schemes. Among these, an important scheme exclusively meant for educated unemployed youth is "Self Employment for Educated Unemployed Youth" (SEEUY) Scheme introduced on 15th August 1983. The main objective of the scheme was to encourage the educated unemployed to undertake self-employment ventures in Industry, Service and Business sectors using the provision of financial packages. After introducing the New Economic Policy 1991, the Government introduced the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojana (PMRY) Scheme on October 2, 1993 with new strategies and subsumed the SEEUY scheme into PMRY scheme from 1994-95 onwards. The present study investigates this problem.

II. Objectives of the study

* To review the Self-Employment Schemes and policies of the government in general and for Educated Unemployed Youth in particular in India and Andhra Pradesh;

* To study the progress of the PMRY scheme in India and Andhra Pradesh;

* To examine the role of the various institutions in implementing the PMRY scheme;

* To make an analytical study on the implementation of the PMRY scheme in the selected three districts of Telangana region of State of Andhra Pradesh and its impact on income,...