Dhaka: The Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal of the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the expansion of National Service Programme to 20 more upazilas for providing jobs to 30,000 unemployed youths.

The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the National Service Programmes will be expanded after selecting the upazilas on the basis of acute poverty level as outlined in the poverty map of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Under the programme, a total of 30,000 youths (1500 from each upazila) from the selected 20 upazilas will get temporary jobs for two years on completion of their three-month training to be provided by the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Each of the 1500 youths who passed the HSC or equivalent examinations from a selected upazila would be eligible to apply for the jobs under the National Service Programme, he said.

The Cabinet Secretary said each of the selected candidates would get 100 taka per day as allowance during the three months training period while the amount would be Tk 200 a day after joining the service.

Bhiuyan said the programme will help the educated but unemployed youths to gather experience and acquire efficiency in official works, including the administrative ones.

He said the programme was introduced in 19 upazilas under three districts, including Gopalgang and Kurigram, initially in March 2010.

Later, the programme was expanded to two phases to more upazilas of the country, including eight upazilas under Rangpur division, he added.

Under the programme, a total of 42,500 unemployed youths received training for three months for which a sum of Tk 122 crore was spent.

Meanwhile, the annual reports of different ministries and divisions for the 2014-2015 fiscal were placed before the Cabinet today and the Prime Minister gave necessary guidelines on implementing the programmes and projects properly within the timeframe.

The Cabinet observed that the par capita income of the country’s people has increased to 1314 US dollars from 1190 US dollars in 2013-14 fiscal, while the foreign reserve stood at 25.02 billion dollars which is 16.33 percent more than the previous fiscal.  Mosharraf Hossain said the Cabinet directed the authorities concerned to work more to improve the law and order situation, take steps to further expedite development and improve capacity in implementing Annual Development Programmes(ADP).

Ministers and state ministers attended the meeting while secretaries concerned were present.

Appreciating Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan for his efficiency, talent and dutifulness during his more than four years in Cabinet Division, the Cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, hoped that he would also brighten image of Bangladesh in his new assignment as the Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank.