The Congress government is all set to start Yuva Shakti Sanghas (self-help groups - SHGs) in 27,000 villages spread across the State, on the lines of Stree Shakti Sanghas (women’s SHGs) .

The youth associations are going to be formed by the D Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Corporation, for which former Bengaluru mayor Ramachandrappa is the chairman.

The stated aim of the Corporation is to provide funds to the proposed Sanghas and make the members self-employed. Each association, having 10 to 15 members, would be suggested to make the best use of natural resources for manufacturing products. If required, the Corporation would provide marketing facility to the youngsters, said Ramachandrappa.
The Corporation, which had a budgetary support of Rs 200 crore, recently got another Rs 100 crore. For each youth association, Rs one lakh would be given as seed money from the Corporation. In all, Rs 300 crore would be the budget per year for this purpose.
“Members of the associations should make local bodies take up development works. If the monthly income is at least Rs 5,000, youths would not migrate from villages to cities. Nearly 60 per cent of the State’s population is being covered by the Corporation,” he added. The Corporation would launch the associations to coincide with the 100th birth anniversary of former chief minister D Devaraj Urs in August next year.

Stree Shakti Sanghas were formed when S M Krishna was the chief minister. These associations have helped women become financially independent. Similar effort is being made to help youths have a vocation without depending on the government, the chairman said.

The SHGs have, over a period of time, turned cheer groups for political parties. It is common to see them campaign for political parties of their choice during elections.