One of the challenges facing the government is to curb endemic unemployment. Obviously, creating employment opportunities by the millions, especially for raw youth, is almost impossible. But the government of Sindh has handled that challenge in an impressive way by launching the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program (BBSYDP) in the province. The program is unique in the sense that no past government has attempted such an initiative. The Sindh government is not only providing trainings in various disciplines but also paying stipends to trainees that start from Rs 3000 along with free books, bags, notebooks and all other necessary add-on. By one estimate, cost of the free material being provided to the trainees is no less than the amount paid in stipends. Also, the trainees coming from more than 70 kilometer away from a training site are also provided extra amount for commute expenses that also works out to be about the same. Currently this program has been running in Sindh province only, training manpower for eventual absorption into various departments like Health, Education & Literacy, Works & Services, Forest & Wildlife, Information Technology, Transport, Irrigation & Power, Manpower & Training, Agriculture, Antiquities, Livestock & Fisheries, Labour, Woman Development, etc. The proposed length of training period for various disciplines varies from as little as three months to as much as four years with commensurate stipend packages. The main purpose of this program is to provide trained manpower to the government sector and encourage the private sector to start similar training programs for supporting their own employment needs. -IMRAN KHAN SIAL, Karachi, February 10.