Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday said the youth have the power to bring a sea change in the nation and the world.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the 3-day training program of Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) at Solan, Thakur said the Morcha is one of the most important wings of the BJP which keeps the Party strong and vibrant.

“Swami Vivekanand once said that youth have the potential to transform the nation and the various wings of the party are essential for bringing freshness and vibrancy in the party,” the CM said.

Thakur stated that Union Minister Anurag Thakur has also led the BJYM at the national level which is a great honour for the state and the wing is a nursery for inculcating the sense of nationalism amongst the youth and also for preparing the future leaders.

Even during the pandemic, the youth played a major role in helping the people in distress. The state government took the vaccination campaign in a mission mode and not only emerged the first state in the country in administering the first dose of vaccine to the eligible group but also emerged as the first state in fully administering the vaccine to the eligible population.

The members of Yuva Morcha played a major role in motivating and transporting the people to get themselves vaccinated, he said.

The Chief Minister further stated that the present state government has started several schemes for the socio-economic upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden. The very first decision of the present government was aimed at upliftment of the old people and the age limit for availing the benefit of old age pension without the income limit was lowered from 80 years to 70 years which is now being reduced to 60 years.

Besides, the state government started an innovative Janmanch for redressal of the grievances of the people. The ‘Mukhyamantri Seva Sankalp Helpline-1100’ has also been started to redress the grievances of the people by registering their grievances online from home. Financial assistance of Rs 3000 per month was being provided for continuous care to the economically weak people suffering from serious diseases under Mukhyamantri Sahara Yojana.

To date, more than 5 lakh families have been registered under the HIMCARE scheme and more than Rs. 205 crore have been spent for the treatment of 2.25 lakh people of the state. The Mukhyamantri Grihini Suvidha Yojna has helped Himachal in emerging as the first smoke-free state of the country and free gas connections were being provided under this scheme. In addition, Rs 31,000 were being provided to the girls belonging to the BPL families at the time of their marriage under the Mukhyamantri Shagun Yojna, he added.

State Health Minister Dr. Rajiv Saizal, BJYM national general secretary Vaibhav Singh, Political Advisor to the Chief Minister Trilok Jamwal were present on the occasion among others.