Over 8 Lakh Registered Youths Unemployed In Odisha, Says Minister

Bhubaneswar: More than 8 lakh youths, registered with employment exchanges, have remained unemployed in Odisha till April this year.

In a written reply to a question of Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja in the Assembly on Tuesday, Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Pritiranjan Gharai said of the total 8,80,175 unemployed youths,  who have registered with employment exchanges, 5,81,676 are male and 2,98,499 are female.

Following are details of registered unemployed youths in the state, as per the minister’s statement:

• 73,126 in the state employment exchange, Bhubaneswar
• 53,939 in Puri district employment exchange
• 50,778 in Rourkela district employment exchange
• 39,003 in Bargarh
• 36,711 in Cuttack
• 34,052 in Berhampur
• 6,642 in Berhampur University employment information and guidance bureau
• 1,534 in the special employment exchange for physical handicaps
• 58,701 in the special employment exchange for SC/ ST in Bhubaneswar.

The minister also said 12,948 engineering graduates and 34,379 diploma holders have registered themselves with different employment exchanges during the last five years. While 26 engineering graduates and 257 diploma holders have got jobs through the employment exchanges, 5,126 diploma holders and 10,612 ITI pass-outs have been recruited through the central placement cell, he added.

On the steps taken by the government for employment of educated youths, the minister said the government had formed the State Employment Mission in 2005-06 for development of skills of unemployed youth. Different skill development training like soft skill, employability skill and industrial training is being provided to engineering graduates, he added.