In the last MUA Government there was much talk about a State Youth Policy that would give a clear sense of direction to the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs on how to go about executing the Policy. The very idea of tagging sports and youth affairs is faulty as the bulk of resources are allocated to sports and sporting events but just a trickle goes towards addressing the actual needs of the youth which is skill development to make them employable. In the present NDA Government Sports and Youth Affairs also includes Skills Development. This holistic approach is important if the demographic dividend is not to become a liability. The MUA Government had spoken much about financial inclusion but has not spelt out how that financial inclusion would happen. The role of the banking sector still leaves much to be desired. People still believe they are bankable only if they can offer collateral for loans taken. At this rate the poor will never be able to avail loan to start any kind of enterprise so this would leave them out of the financial web. In short they are financially excluded.
Every entrepreneur has to start somewhere but banks prefer to lend to those with a history of executing a successful business. So where does the start-up capital come from? Obviously a person who has started a business on his own must be someone with capital. Such a person would need capital infusion only for upscaling his/her business. But this will not address the needs of a large section of youth who despite having the energy and determination to do something meaningful in life do not have the wherewithal to start any enterprise. This is where Government policies come in. Banks have been operating with a profit motive and will continue to do so unless they are reined in. The losses that banks suffer is not because of bad debts created by the poor but because they have invested in the affluent who play around with the money and declare bankruptcy after they have parked their money in some safe tax haven. This needs to be unearthed and the banking sector needs to be pulled up for its misdemeanour. If banks can focus on providing start-up capital to young entrepreneurs and also provide the hand-holding required through their business consultants during the early days we may yet see some change in youth behaviour. The demographic dividend will then become a true national asset.