Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren launched two ambitious schemes and a 45-day campaign on Monday to mark Jharkhand’s statehood day (the day when it was carved out of erstwhile Bihar).

The Sahay (Sports Action towards Harnessing Aspiration of Youth) scheme and universal pension scheme were launched at the Project Bhavan, Ranchi, on Monday evening.

“The Sahay scheme is one of its kind in the country and is being introduced in the Left wing extremism affected areas of the state to link youths with sports and channelise them to the mainstream of the society instead of being deviated towards rebel outfits even as the Union home ministry is still thinking of means to bring back youths in the mainstream. Under the plan, officials from the sports department along with district administration have been asked to identify and register potential talents under 19 years of age from the panchayat level and taken to the block level and district level where they will be prepared for national and international sports events,” said a source in the CM secretariat at Ranchi.

The objective of the scheme is to reduce the gap between the people and the police through sports while grooming budding sportspersons. The government plans to organise multiple sports tournaments in collaboration with national and state-level sports federations. A database of such promising players will be available with the government. The registration will be done by the block level and municipal level officials. There will be a lucrative amount from the government for each of the participants.

In the first phase, the scheme would roll out in rebel hit West Singhbhum, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Khunti Simdega and Gumla districts.

The universal pension scheme which will be implemented by the state women, child development and social security department, will make all eligible people of Centrally sponsored pension schemes under the National Social Assistance Program and social security pension schemes under the state plan, benefit of state pensions barring two exclusion categories, a person of 60 years of age, any specially-abled person or widow above the age of 18 years and those entitled to a pension under any other category will now be excluded only if the beneficiary or an immediate family member is an income tax payee or if the beneficiary or family member is a permanent employee of the state, Centre or public-sector undertaking.

“In other states, widow and specially-abled persons are included in pension schemes only if they are fall either under BPL category or come under SC/ST category,” said a source in CM secretariat.

Soren also inaugurated the Apke Adhikar, Apki Sarkar, Apke Dwar (Your rights, your government at your doorstep) 45-days campaign at Ulihatu in Khunti, the birthplace of Birsa Munda which will be executed till December 28 (a day before the government celebrates the second anniversary on December 29) at all the panchayats of the state.

The chief minister also inaugurated 27 schemes worth Rs 111 crore, laid the foundation stone of 31 schemes and distributed assets among the beneficiaries and handed over land endowment lease to Sukhram Munda, a descendant of Birsa Munda.

“From today, the government’s scheme will go from village to village. If the officials are negligent in giving the benefits of the schemes, then they will be identified and punished,” said Soren in a warning to bureaucrats and government against any slackness in the execution of government schemes reaching the last mile.

He urged the people to be aware of their rights.

“Only if one is aware of rights can the state develop,” said Soren.

Tata Steel scholarship

Tata Steel foundation selected 14 meritorious tribal youths for the Tata Steel Scholarship program the names of which were announced on Monday.

“The Tata Steel Scholars (TSS) programme in 2014. The scholarship programme has been an impetus to the nourishment of a very vibrant and dynamic group of students coming from the SC/ST community, residing in the operational areas of Tata Steel. The youth selected for the scholarship have exhibited exceptional diligence and perseverance in achieving their academic goals. TSS provides end-to-end support to the students, beginning from financial aid and mentoring to bracing them for life challenges through counselling. The programme intends to expand its outreach to a wider group of scholars and elevate their socio-economic status,” said a communique from Tata Steel.