Ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced a monthly allowance of ₹1,500 for unemployed young job seekers who have passed the secondary examination (Class 10). The scheme aims to support youth as they work towards a self-reliant future.
The announcement was made during Banerjee’s speech at a sit-in protest against the alleged large-scale deletion of voter names by the Election Commission of India during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll.
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According to the chief minister, young men and women aged between 21 and 40 years who have cleared the secondary examination will be eligible for the monthly assistance. The payments will begin from March 7.
Banerjee said the allowance was originally scheduled to start from April 1, but the state government decided to advance the rollout. She added that the move was timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, which is observed on March 8.
“In the case of the Yuva Sathi programme, those who are still studying and are not beneficiaries of any schemes other than scholarships will receive the amount,” Banerjee said. “We had earlier announced that the payment would start on April 1, but as tomorrow is International Women’s Day, we have decided to begin the payments earlier.”
The chief minister described the initiative as part of the state government’s efforts to provide financial support to young people and help them move towards employment and economic independence.
