Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today exhorted the youth to not only stay away from drugs but also support efforts to make Himachal a drug-free state by sharing information about drug traffickers with the police.
Sukhu, while speaking on the occasion of International Youth Day here, said that the government was committed to rehabilitating drug victims.
He said that the government was creating employment and self-employment opportunities for the youth, besides encouraging start-ups. “To promote tourism, the government will invest Rs 3,000 crore in the coming years.
At present, about 8,000 homestays are operational in the state and tourism activities have begun along the China border,” he added.
Sukhu said that reforms in the education sector had elevated Himachal Pradesh’s ranking from 21st to fifth in the country.
“Ten Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools will become operational from next academic session. They will be equipped with swimming pools and nutritious meals and will provide quality education.
Teacher recruitment is underway and advertisements have been issued for 600 JBT posts,” he added.
He said that 6,000 orphaned children had been declared ‘Children of the State’ and financial support for higher education under Dr YS Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojana, which offers loans up to Rs 20 lakh at just 1 per cent interest rate, was also being disbursed.
Sukhu launched an HIV awareness campaign, scheduled to run from August 12 to October 12, 2025.
The campaign would cover 6,000 villages and more than 1,500 educational institutions of the state. He also launched the second phase of the car-bin distribution drive and handed over bins to 50 taxi drivers in Shimla.
