Naidu launches dole for youth

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday launched a scheme called 'Mukhya Mantri Yuva Nestham' ("chief minister's young friends") to pay Rs 1,000 per month as sustenance allowance to each unemployed graduate from below poverty line families, in Amaravati.

About 2.07 lakh eligible youths will get the first month's allowance deposited directly into their bank accounts on Wednesday.

A token amount of Re 1 was deposited into all accounts on Monday to ascertain the authenticity of the accounts.

Though unemployment allowance was an electoral promise of the Telugu Desam Party in 2014, the scheme has been launched only six months before the 2019 polls.

Naidu told the youth that the scheme is not aimed at the elections but to give some hope to the unemployed.

"I believe in 'Dare to dream and strive to achieve'. In my early days as the chief minister in 1996, I got huge hoardings put up at key places in Hyderabad with this inspiring message. Thus, we created the ambition among people to grow. This paved the way for development of Hyderabad," Naidu said during an interaction.

"You dream. We will help you realise them," he said.

Naidu said that he wanted to become a civil servant after his post-graduation from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati.

"Later I felt I should become a legislator so that I can command many IAS officers. I pursued my dream. After becoming an MLA in 1972, I set a new target — to become a minister. I kept realising all my dreams. When I became the chief minister, I dreamt of developing Hyderabad into an IT hub, and I achieved it," he said.

He said his dream now is to carve Amaravati into a better city than Hyderabad.

"I will realise this dream too. Amaravati will be the fastest-progressing city in the world and the cleanest city in India," he asserted. "I am a student forever as I keep on learning from every obstacle, every step every day," he said.