Badal said the government had decided to undertake an extensive survey of the educated but unemployed youth with rural background, to enable them to get appropriate jobs according to their qualifications and experiences. He said the department of employment generation set up by the government would directly supervise the task and the compilation of data therefore would act as a reservoir to provide ideal jobs to the eligible candidates.

He said the government also intends to generate job opportunities for the unemployed by opening skill development centres to upgrade their skills so that they can be gainfully employed in the country as well as abroad. The state government has already tied up with a multi-national company, Larsen & Toubro, to set up a skill development centre to impart training to the youth in the field of construction and building.

There was ample scope for the youth to be absorbed into the avenues of electrical, mechanical, auto engineering, plumbing and marble fixing. With the coming up of malls, shopping plazas, multiplexes, industry and clubs, there would be considerable scope for their absorption.

The CM added that the government has planned to set up 100 Adarsh Schools, out of which 70 have been finalised already. He urged the NRIs to come forward and adopt these schools as the government was ready to bear 75 per cent of the costs. The Chief Minister also asked the NRIs to take initiatives for development projects and schemes in their native villages in the same ratio. They should share their experiences with the state government in the diverse fields of medicine, healthcare, education and public sanitation, he said.

In his address, patron of IPCSI, A R Kohli said with half the population under the age of 25, India is already equipped with the youngest labour force in the world. “India is not expected to outdo China in terms of population until 2030. But she will have more young workers aged between 20 and 24 by 2013. The international labour predicts that by 2020, India will have 116 million workers in this age bracket. If these workers are adequately trained and skilled, they will give the country a huge competitive edge in terms of raising per capita income and reducing dependency ratios,” said Kohli.

In his welcome address, honorary president, IPCSI, Dr A S Marwaha from the US said that it was about time to shift focus from job seekers to job creators.