At Rozgar Mela, PM Modi tells appointees to aim for more than government jobs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on the country's youth to not think that landing a government job is the end of their journey and that they must keep improving their skills.

Speaking on January 20 to some of the 71,000 new recruits who were given their appointment letters under a Rozgar Mela, the Prime Minister said the government was doing all it could to empower the youth.

Speaking to a recruit from Manipur who had previously worked in the private sector, Modi said, "Now you have a government job. So will you keep trying to learn in the future or is it that 'chaliye, ho gaya, sarkar mein aa gaye, gaadi chal jayegi'?'"

"My suggestion is that you keep developing your skills because a government job is not the end of the journey. It's only the start," Modi told another recruit from Srinagar.

Under the Rozgar Melas, launched in October 2022, 10 lakh people will be given government jobs.

The recruitment drive was launched amid criticism of the government that it had not created enough jobs for the youth. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted on January 20 that the 71,000 appointment letters were too little.

"Narendra Modi ji, 30 lakh posts are lying vacant in government departments... You had promised to give 2 crore jobs per year. Tell the youth - where are the 16 crore jobs in the last eight years," Kharge tweeted in Hindi.

In his address to the new recruits, Modi said stressed the emergence of self-employment opportunities in recent years. "In a changing and rapidly progressing India, employment and self-employment opportunities are continuously emerging. And when development gathers pace, self-employment opportunities are unlimited. India is seeing this right now," Modi said.