Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on 15 September 2026 addressed the 'Yuva Sankalp Diwas' event in Dehradun, pledging that the state government will create conditions where young people are not forced to leave their villages, homes, or the state in pursuit of employment and opportunity.

What CM Dhami Promised the Youth

Speaking to a gathering of young people, Chief Minister Dhami drew a clear line between aspiration and compulsion. 'We want to ensure that the youth of Uttarakhand do not have to leave their villages, homes, and state out of compulsion in pursuit of their dreams. We want our youth to become job creators in the future, rather than merely job seekers,' he said.

This framing — shifting from job-seeker to job-creator — reflects a broader challenge for hill states like Uttarakhand, which have historically seen high outmigration to plains cities and metropolitan centres. Pauri, Chamoli, and Almora districts, long among the most affected by rural depopulation, were specifically named for the development of special industrial zones — a targeted attempt to bring economic activity into the mountains rather than pull people out of them.

Skill Development and Future-Ready Training

Dhami acknowledged the transformative pace of technology, pointing to artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, and digital platforms reshaping employment across industries. 'We must prepare our youth not just for the present, but for the world of the future. Accordingly, we are promoting modern skill training aligned with the needs of industries like AI and robotics,' he said.

The Chief Minister also highlighted the role of tourism, homestays, and locally made products in generating new livelihoods — sectors where Uttarakhand holds a natural advantage and which do not require youth to relocate. He added that industrial expansion is being deliberately extended to hilly regions, not just the plains.

Youth Commission and Policy Inclusion

A significant announcement at the event was the state government's decision to constitute a Youth Commission, which Dhami said will advance the rights and interests of young people and foster opportunities for skill development, entrepreneurship, and innovation. 'We want the youth to be included in the policies formulated for them,' he said, adding that the commission would help young people become 'digitally empowered'.

He also stressed the need to raise awareness about substance abuse, cybercrime, and other social issues, arguing that youth must be made active participants in policy-making — not merely subjects of it.

Anti-Cheating Law and Exam Transparency

Referring to Uttarakhand's 2023 anti-cheating law, Dhami said the legislation was enacted to make the state's recruitment processes transparent and to protect the futures of young aspirants. 'No one should be able to rob a young person of years of hard work and dreams, or commit an injustice against them. After all, an appointment is not merely a statistic — it represents a young person's toil and their family's hopes,' he said.

Yuva Bhavishya Nirman Yojana: Free Coaching at Home

Chief Minister Dhami also highlighted the state government's recently launched 'Yuva Bhavishya Nirman Yojana', a scheme designed to support youth preparing for competitive examinations. Under the scheme, students will receive quality coaching in their own villages, neighbourhoods, and cities — without needing to spend approximately ₹60,000 on room rent or relocate to large coaching hubs. Dhami closed with an invocation of Swami Vivekananda, urging youth to remain disciplined, work hard, and use their mobile phones not for passive scrolling but as tools for genuine skill-building. How effectively these schemes translate into measurable reductions in outmigration will be the defining test of this agenda.