Regional

Channi promises jobs, programme to help youth go abroad

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi here on Tuesday said if the Congress returns to power in next year’s state Assembly polls, it will provide the youth one lakh jobs within a year and also launch a programme to help them go abroad.

Channi said the youth will be given free coaching of English language tests to settle abroad. Class 12-pass youngsters will be eligible for the jobs, which will be given within one year of forming the government, he said addressing a gathering after launching the Punjab Government Rozgar Guarantee for Youth Scheme (PRAGTY) at a private university.Channi said the promise of jobs is not an announcement but a commitment backed by a decision of the Punjab cabinet.

He said the first decision of the Congress government will be to provide these jobs.Channi said the PRAGTY programme will ensure free coaching to students for competitive exams to civil services and armed forces. The state government will also initiate start-up courses for the youth across universities in the state, he said.The CM said the Punjabi youth has contributed immensely to the development of foreign lands by their work.To help the youth settle abroad and save them from fake travel agents, the Punjab government will start a programme.

The state government will provide interest-free loans to the youth for this purpose.Channi said similar loans will also be extended to those desirous of opening their own ventures. Apart from it, the state government will provide free coaching of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System ) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) to enable the youth to go abroad easily, he said.Channi, without wearing a mask, mingled with students and got selfies clicked. He also performed bhangra with them.