Andhra Pradesh cabinet clears Rs 1,000 unemployment allowance to youth

Unemployed graduate youths in Andhra Pradesh would soon get a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 each, the TDP government today announced, fulfilling the party's 2014 election-eve promise.

The state Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu decided to pay Rs 1,000 a month to each unemployed graduate in the state with an upper age limit of 35.

In the run-up to the assembly elections in 2014, the TDP had assured to give an allowance of Rs 2,000 for unemployed youths.

The government estimated that there were about 10 lakh unemployed people as per the "Pulse Survey data", ministers N Lokesh and Kollu Ravindra told reporters here.

The scheme would cost Rs 1,200 crore a year to the public exchequer, they said adding the launch date would be announced soon.

"A group of ministers studied similar schemes being implemented in various states in the country as well as some foreign countries. No other state in India is paying Rs 1,000.

Though Uttar Pradesh paid Rs 1,000, the scheme was discontinued in six months, Lokesh said.

The Andhra Pradesh governments objective was, however, to make the scheme 'irrelevant' in due course since focus was on large scale employment generation, they noted.

The government was offering several incentives for industrial promotion and several major industrial units were expected to commence operations in the next two-three years, which will create scores of jobs.

"Then there should be no unemployment in the state and the allowance scheme should become irrelevant," they added.