Karnataka Youth Policy lays stress on mental and physical well-being

The Karnataka Youth Policy 2022 will likely focus on the mental and physical well-being of the state’s youth.

An expert committee headed by Dr R Balasubramaniam, the founder of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, has released the first draft of the policy. DH has a copy of the first draft.

The policy will remain in operation until 2030 and aims to enable the holistic development of youth and empower them to bring about constructive societal change.

While recommending the pivot on mental health, the committee cited the challenges faced by the youth including food habits and substance abuse plus the Covid pandemic.

The committee has recommended expanding the scope of the district mental health programme under the National Health Mission, setting up mental health programmes at secondary and tertiary educational and training institutions, reducing and preventing youth mortality by establishing an audit review cell for all new and existing roads and conducting awareness campaigns on traffic safety.

Additionally, to ensure youths are physically fit, experts have recommended launching the ‘Fit Karnataka’ movement along the lines of the central government’s ‘Fit India’ initiative. “Sports and fitness are essential for the growth and development of youth and also for their overall physical and mental well-being. Sports and fitness also help young people learn key values such as leadership, teamwork and social skills,” the draft states.

Besides mental and physical health, the draft also speaks about promoting arts and culture, value-based leadership development, employment and entrepreneurship, education and training.

K C Narayana Gowda, Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister, told DH: “The committee has submitted the draft and we have suggested covering some more issues. The committee will submit the final report in another week. We will then place it before the state Cabinet for approval.”

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