Kickstarting a slew of youth oriented initiatives, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday digitally laid the foundation stone of permanent camp of C-PYTE at Asal Uttar in district Tarn Taran to commemorate the bravery of Company Quarter Master Havaldar Abdul Hamid PVC and to provide training to the youth of Punjab for selection in Military and Para-military Forces. Besides, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the 7th State level Mega Rozgar Mela with a target to fill 2.5 lakh vacancies across Punjab and launched free online coaching for Government recruitment exams apart from rolling out the ‘Mera Kaam Mera Maan’ scheme to provide employment assistance allowance Rs. 2500 per month to workers and wards of workers registered under Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister emphasized the aspect of technology as pre-requisite for finding a job as per requirements of the industrial sector, hence the free skill training initiative with a view to prepare the youth for job market.
The Chief Minister further said that a new Armed Forces Preparatory Institute Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (SBACS-AFPI) is being established at Bajwara, Hoshiarpur at a cost of Rs. 26.96 crores for preparing youth of Punjab to compete and qualify in CDSE/AFCAT.
Dwelling on the employment facilitation for youth, the Chief Minister said that the Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training department over the past 4 years has been catering to an average of 1200 candidates every day for facilitating them in job opportunities.
During 1st wave of COVID, the Department of Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training department organized 6th State level Mega Rozgar Mela and Mega Self-Employment Mela through virtual/physical means in all districts of Punjab that facilitated 2,09,124 candidates (91,360 employment and 1,17,764 self- employment, added the Chief Minister.
Going down the memory lane, the Chief Minister recalled that September 9, 2021, marks the 56-year anniversary of Battle of Asal Uttar, one of the largest tank battles fought during Indo-Pak War of 1965 which resulted in victory due to fierce battle put up by Indian Army, their outstanding valour and better strategy.
The battle also witnessed the personal bravery of Company Quarter Master Havaldar Abdul Hamid, 4th Grenadiers, who was honoured posthumously with the Param Vir Chakra for knocking out several enemy tanks with a recoilless gun, reminisced the Chief Minister.