Shri Hemant Soren, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, laid out the state’s vision for the youth in Jharkhand while addressing the Dasra Philanthropy Week Forum- a platform that brought together development sector leaders and change-makers to strengthen the dialogue around India’s development. Mr. Soren acknowledged the 10to19 Dasra Adolescents Collaborative’ssustained work and commitment to addressing the needs of Jharkhand’s youth and adolescents and outlined how his government aims to continue prioritizing the needs of this group. 

The Chief Ministerhighlighted the urgency of addressing the needs of vulnerable groups -youth, women, farmers, informal workers, Dalit and Adivasi populations – to ensure that the pathway for future progress in the state is comprehensive and leaves no one behind. This echoed the forum’s theme this year- A Billion Thriving – which reflects a vision for an inclusive India where not a few, but over a billion Indians are thriving with dignity and equity- a vision that can only be made possible by centring justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in all public, civil society and private sector led solutions.

The CM reassured actionable outcomes in the following priority areas – ‘enriching the quality of education’, ‘focussing on building a robust healthcare system’, ‘Improving the status of anaemia in the state’, and ‘Improving the nutrition index among young girls in the state’. The state is trying to improve nutrition outcomes for girls and women through the SAAMAR (Strategic Action for Alleviation of Malnutrition and Anaemia Reduction). The program is a 1000-day mission mode multi sectoral intervention and nutrition surveillance initiative for girls and women to combat malnutrition and anaemia.

In a statement, the CM acknowledged the need to urgently address the multiple aspects that contribute to improved health and wellbeing of adolescents and youth including tackling critical issues of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. The government is also striving to ensure that the young people have adequate access to skill training, gainful employment, access to quality education, health care services including mental health services. Furthermore, he proposed building capacity of young girls through sports. He believes that sport is a very strong element in Jharkhand and moreyoung girls should be encouraged totake-up sports. 

The state’s recent budget also reinforced CM Hemant Soren and his government’s vision of strengthening welfare and development for the youth, people from marginalized and vulnerable communities. The 2021-22 Jharkhand State Budget which was introduced on March 3rd 2021 had a special emphasis on:

• Rural development 
• Improving access to education  
• Prioritizing health and nutrition of adolescent girls 
• Creating livelihood and employability opportunities 
• Building agency among adolescent girls

These efforts willsupport and strengthen the state’s vision of ‘SashaktKishoriSashaktJharkhand’ (Empowered Adolescents, Empowered Jharkhand), helpbuild capacity of adolescent girls and bring accelerated yet sustainable change for the entire adolescent community. 

The 10to19 Dasra Adolescent Collaborative’snation-wide AbMeriBaari campaign is working towards amplifying adolescent voices, increasing youth participation in the decision-making process and fostering important partnerships to bring adolescent voices to the forefront. The campaign, this year, will focus on Teenage Pregnancy and spreading awareness around Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR). 

CM Hemant Soren’s address was a clarion call for joint action, recognizing that complex challenges that the young people face will require a collective effort from Civil Society Organizations, government, communities and private sector companies.