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SBI Youth for India (SBI YFI) is an Indian rural fellowship programme initiated, funded and managed by the State Bank of India (SBI) in partnership with reputed NGOs. It provides a framework for India's bright young minds to join hands with rural communities, empathise with their struggles and connect with their aspirations. The selected fellows work with experienced NGOs on challenging grass root development projects. The fellowship is an initiative to sensitize & provide avenues for the more privileged sections to become aware of ground realities and contribute through their personal efforts towards building strong cohesive communities; a pre-requisite for a stable socio-political environment, which in turn would lead to economic regeneration. The focus of the fellowship has been in generating interest of the educated youth towards the social sector and in incubating the spirit of social entrepreneurship. The SBI Youth for India Fellowship was launched on 1 March 2011, in partnership with three reputed NGOs: M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, BAIF Development Research Foundation and Seva Mandir. All the three NGOs have more than two decades of experience in the development sector. The fellowship and its work has been appreciated by eminent personalities like Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (ex-President of India),〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Recent content )〕 Mr. Ratan Tata (Chairman, Tata Group),〔 D.S. Subbarao (Governor, Reserve Bank of India), (Mrs. Rajashree Birla ) (Director of the Aditya Birla Group of Companies), Mr. O. P. Bhatt (Chairman, State Bank of India), and Professor M.S. Swaminathan (the proponent of the Green Revolution in India) amongst others. == Background == Over 55% of the Indian population is below the age of 25 indicating the extent of energy, enthusiasm and idealism that can be harnessed. The mainstream career trend of young university passouts looking for climbing up the corporate ladder fast or to go abroad, has alienated the youth from participating in nation building activities. As a result, their value system has made them materialistic in their outlook and they feel helpless & frustrated about their inability to act as change agents in society & find a higher purpose for their lives.〔 On the other hand, economic liberalization & the growth in GDP have apparently not touched 70% of the Indian population. The declining agricultural productivity, falling employment opportunities in agricultural and non-farm sectors, poor healthcare services and inability to access quality elementary and higher education has enhanced poverty and distress amongst one third of the rural population.〔 To bridge the widening urban-rural divide and to organize & galvanize the youth, particularly the urban educated youth, so that they voluntarily get involved in various developmental projects in rural areas, requires a well-structured platform like Peace Corps or AmeriCorps to enable volunteers to spend a brief period, doing development work with underprivileged sections of society before taking up their chosen profession.〔 In India, there are several NGOs engaged in development work in rural areas but the average youth cannot access the avenues of volunteer work without long term commitment for lack of any organised, short-term programme for recruiting volunteers at the national level. The SBI Youth for India program fills in this gap — the fellows can contribute to social work through a sabbatical experience and get back into the mainstream, if they choose to.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SBI Youth for India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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