Involve Youth in PM's Initiatives, says President

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Describing youth as the potential "engine of growth", President Pranab Mukherjee Wednesday called for improving their employability to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India campaign a success.

"India is projected to have the largest workforce in the world by 2025, with a surplus of 47 million workers against a shortage of 56.5 million skilled workers in the world," the president said at the 46th Conference of Governors at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

"This demographic dividend is a double-edged sword. If their huge potential is tapped, they could become a powerful engine for growth. On the other hand, if we fail to do so, it could create social tension," he said.

Mukherjee expressed hope the government will evolve an appropriate skill development framework, remove the demand-supply disconnect for skilled manpower, promote Public-Private Partnerships and expand youth entrepreneurship education, said an official communique.

He requested the executive heads of the states and the union territories to promote skill development among youth and play a "persuasive" role in the implementation of the Jan Dhan Yojna as well as the Swachh Bharat Mission.

Pointing out that over 60 percent of the rural population does not have access to sanitation facilities, the president said that "we must reverse this position by addressing problem areas like affordability and mindset through innovative solutions".

Mukherjee underscored the importance of "primary" responsibility of the governors and Lt. governors to "ensure that the affairs of the states and union territories are conducted strictly in accordance with the letter and spirit" of the constitution to safeguard the democratic and secular fabric of the country.

"Prevalence of peace and communal harmony must be ensured," he said.

"The Constitution of India is the guiding document that provides the framework for governance... Any deviation from the principles and provisions embodied in the Constitution would weaken the democratic fabric of the country and jeopardise the social, economic and political well-being of our citizens," he said in his opening address attended by 21 governors and two lt. governors.

Modi, union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely, along with other cabinet minsters were present.

Mukherjee called upon prioritizing infrastructural development in the northeast, adding that ethnic tension in the state must not be tolerated.

"Ethnic violence in Assam needs to be countered effectively, especially the sinister motives to drive a wedge between Bodo and non-Bodo sections. The genuine aspirations of the Bodo people in terms of development must be addressed expeditiously. Under no circumstances can the spread of ethnic hatred be tolerated," he said.

A policy of maintaining peaceful relations with all countries governed India's external affairs and "all disputes relating to our border areas or otherwise should be resolved through peaceful means", Mukherjee said.

Speaking on issues relating to fifth schedule of the Constitution, Mukherjee called upon governors and Lt. governors to closely monitor development programmes with special focus on quality of education and health.

He said the autonomous councils and autonomous district councils set, up under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, in Assam Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura enjoy legislative, executive, financial and judicial powers.

The two-day conference seeks to discuss internal and external security issues with a special focus on border security in states sharing international frontiers as well as financial inclusion, employment generation and employability that would make skill development programmes effective.