New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said in Jammu on Tuesday that many start-up avenues of self-employment are more lucrative than government jobs and the need is only to change the mindset, according to a statement.

He said many are inclined to prefer a small-time government job with a meagre salary instead of a self-employed start-up initiative which could comparatively beget manifold returns from the beginning itself.

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Singh was interacting with agriculture start-ups, young entrepreneurs and farmers after inaugurating a one-day awareness-cum-training programme at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).

The programme was conducted under the Aroma Mission Phase-II.

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Singh was told by a young entrepreneur that by using modern technology in cultivation, he had started earning Rs 3 lakh per annum from beginning itself from a bare one hectare of land while two B.Tech engineers said that their income through a similar start-up initiative had doubled within a short span of five months, according to the statement.

In response, the minister said, there is a message for the misguided youth who keep struggling for a daily wage job which may not fetch them more than Rs 6,000 per month, whereas young people opting for start-ups are not only providing lucrative livelihood for themselves but also for their peers.

"Start-up avenues of self-employment are more lucrative than government jobs and the need is only to change the mind-set which is inclined to prefer a small-time government job with a meagre salary instead of a self-employed start-up initiative which could comparatively beget manifold returns from the beginning itself,” the statement quoted Singh as having told the gathering.

Singh said the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has abolished interviews, as a result of which there will be lesser and lesser scope for jobs through nepotism, favouritism or any other considerations by manipulating the interview marks.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of every right citizen to educate the youth to determine his priority with clarity and to decide whether he has merit and talent for a government job or skill and entrepreneurship to earn livelihood through a vocation outside the government sector, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)