Minister of State (I/C) for youth affairs and sports Shri Vijay Goel said that the National Youth Policy, 2014 lays emphasis on actively involving the youth in the decision-making process. “Youth Engagement” is one of the key priority areas of the Policy. The Policy also stipulates about a structured platform for engagement with the youth across the country, through conducting thematic workshops, putting out calls for policy notes through ICT-based channels, etc. The Policy calls upon all concerned Ministries to set up ‘Youth Connect’ programmes as a targeted youth outreach programme.
In the written reply in the Lok sabha today he said that the Government has adopted youth-led development strategy. The Government holds the view that the Youth should be active drivers and not just passive recipients of the development process. Different Ministries have evolved different strategies to involve youth in decision-making process. A key initiative is the “MyGov.in” Platform through which different Ministries/ Departments consult citizens on important governance issues. The Department of Youth Affairs has also created a Group titled “Youth for Nation-building” on “MyGov.in” platform through which the Department engages with the youth on various issues from time to time. The Department of Youth Affairs has also introduced a ‘Neighbourhood Youth Parliament” Programme through which the youth are engaged in discussions/ debate on contemporary issues of significance to the community in general and youth in particular, to make them part of the governance process.