The Union Cabinet approved the introduction
of the National Youth Policy, 2014 (NYP, 2014) on 9 January 2014. The NYP, 2014
will replace National Youth Policy, 2003 which is currently in force.
The vision of
NYP, 2014 is to empower youth to achieve their full potential, and through them
enable India to find its rightful place in the community of nations.
The Policy is basically aimed at development
of an educated and healthy young population, who are not only economically
productive, but are also socially responsible citizens contributing to the task
of nation-building.
For achieving the vision of NYP, 2014; five
well-defined objectives and 11 priority areas have been identified. The
priority areas are: education, skill development and employment,
entrepreneurship, health and healthy lifestyle, sports, promotion of social
values, community engagement, participation in politics and governance, youth
engagement, inclusion and social justice.
The Youth Policy, 2014 will cover the entire
country. It will cater to the needs of all youth in the age-group of 15-29
years. According to the Census 2011 the youth in the age group of 15-29 years
constitute 27.5 per cent of the population, that is about 33 crore persons.
The Policy has proposed broad policy
interventions for the youth which are consistent with the 12th Plan priorities.
It has not proposed any specific programme/scheme, having financial
implications. Rather all concerned Ministries/Department has been mandated to
bring focus on youth issues within the framework of their
plans/programmes/schemes.