‘Youth Development Initiatives’ to be launched on Thursday ISLAMABAD: A ‘Youth Development Initiatives’ will be launched on Thursday to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Independence of Pakistan. The initiative was taken by the Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, said a press release issued here. The six ‘Young Development Initiatives’ include 20,000 Internship for Young Engineers, 20 Under-Developed Districts Transformation, 250 Mini Sport Complexes, 205 Vocational Training Institutes Programme, Pakistan Innovation Fund, and 75 National Top Talent Scholarships Programme. The Youth Development Initiatives were prepared by the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives on the direction of the minister after marathon meetings in the ministry to empower the youth of the country. The Internship for Young 20,000 Engineers programme envisages paid on-the-job training for fresh young graduates in various fields. Under this program, around 20,0000 internees will be hired in new/ongoing development projects during the current financial year. The stipend of the internship will be paid from the funds reserved under the head of contingency. The Uplifting of 20 Poorest Districts of Pakistan will be the second initiatives of the ministry. The SDGs require uplifting furthest behind districts for equitable development which is essential for balanced and inclusive growth. A package for bottom 20 districts of Pakistan – mostly from Balochistan and merged districts of erstwhile FATA has been identified on the basis of MPI Index (that ranked districts according to their development deprivation i.e. 90 percent deprived of basic facilities such as; education, health, water and sanitation) has been designed. ‘Youth Development Initiatives’ to be launched on Thursday Similarly, to increase the facilities of sports available to the general public, particularly the youth, 250 Mini Sports Complexes will be constructed nationwide. In this regard, Rs.1000 million have been allocated in PSDP 2022-23 for construction of these mini sports complexes with the aim of increasing accessibility of sports facilities to the youth thus giving them a chance to be able to compete at national and eventually the international stage. Among the six initiatives, Pakistan Innovation Fund to be established and the objectives of the project include; to prepare a framework for effective innovation policy for the country including identification of factors that lead to positive and effective innovative regulatory processes, to create awareness among stakeholders on the importance of innovations for productivity enhancement and in national development. The 75 National Top Talent Scholarships Programme provides Pakistani students with Master and PhD degrees in top 50 universities of the world to encourage and prepare talented students from low-income families who aspire for higher education but cannot apply for the admission in top universities due to lack of finances.