Rajiv Yuva Vikasam Sanction Letters to Be Distributed on June 2: Bhatti

Khammam: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday announced that the distribution of sanction letters under the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam self-employment scheme will begin across Telangana from June 2.

Addressing a press conference at his camp office in Madhira, Khammam district, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the Congress government had already provided job appointment letters to 56,000 candidates who qualified through competitive examinations within a span of 18 months. Recruitment for an additional 30,000 government posts is currently underway, he added.

Highlighting the government's efforts to support those who could not secure government jobs, he said the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme was introduced to extend financial assistance to unemployed youth to help them set up self-employment units. The deadline for submitting applications for the scheme was extended to April 14 in response to public demand. Following application scrutiny, sanction letters will be distributed at the mandal level from June 2 to 9. A one-week training programme will be conducted for selected beneficiaries based on the units they choose to establish.

Under the scheme, financial aid ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh will be provided to eligible youth. Bhatti urged the unemployed to take full advantage of the initiative to become self-reliant.

He also highlighted Telangana's unique status as the only state in the country supplying sanna biyyam (fine rice) to all ration card holders under the Public Distribution System (PDS). “The Congress government has fulfilled the long-cherished dream of the poor to consume fine rice daily,” he said. Currently, 2.85 crore individuals from 90 lakh ration card-holding households are availing this benefit, with the number of cards expected to reach one crore soon, covering about three crore people. The state is spending Rs 13,523 crore annually to provide fine rice under PDS, he added.

Taking a swipe at the previous BRS government, Bhatti Vikramarka said that although the BRS had promised sanna biyyam for a decade, it failed to deliver on the commitment despite calling Telangana a "rich state."

Earlier in the day, the Deputy Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for an underground drainage project in Madhira, taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 128 crore.