L-G VK Saxena launches ‘Zhabstok Ladakh’ Youth Internship Portal to institutionalise youth participation in governance.

L-G VK Saxena launches ‘Zhabstok Ladakh’ Youth Internship Portal to institutionalise youth participation in governance.
2,000 youth to be selected for three-month internship across 25 departments; ₹5,000 monthly honorarium
Internship to begin on September 17; best performers eligible for three-month extension
Leh, August 22: Lieutenant Governor, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena today launched ‘Zhabstok Ladakh’, the first of its kind official Youth Internship Portal of the Union Territory of Ladakh, which seeks to institutionalise a collaborative form of governance by creating a structured platform for youth to work with and learn from the Government.
Launched as part of the Youth Month, the portal (https://internship.ladakh.gov.in/) will provide students and young people of Ladakh an opportunity to participate directly in the development process by undertaking internships across 25 departments of the UT Administration through a single application platform.
The LG Yuva Internship Programme will be formally rolled out on September 17, the birth anniversary of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, observed as Seva Diwas. It seeks to move beyond conventional government-citizen engagement and create an institutional mechanism through which young people can become active partners in governance and community development.
Registration for the three-month internship programme will commence from August 22 and continue till September 5, followed by document verification from September 6 to 14. The internship will commence on September 17, with 2,000 youth to be selected for the programme.
Selected interns will receive a monthly honorarium of ₹5,000 during the internship period. Based on their performance, the internship of the best-performing candidates may be extended by an additional three months. At the completion of the internship, participants will be provided certificates that can strengthen their academic and professional profiles and support their future employment opportunities.
The programme will enable interns to work with different departments of the UT Administration, understand how Government functions, gain first-hand exposure to public administration and learn how policies and ideas are translated into programmes and projects on the ground. Candidates will be allotted departments based on their skills and interests, enabling them to contribute in areas where their capabilities can be best utilised.
“With a large portion of our population under 30, I am confident that their ideas and energy would strengthen and enrich each of these departments and help realise the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047. With this initiative, Ladakh will lead the way in demonstrating how Government and youth can collaborate for development. The initiative would provide a new avenue for young people to serve Ladakh, gain practical experience and contribute their energy and ideas towards addressing local challenges,” L-G Shri Saxena said while launching the portal.
The Lieutenant Governor emphasised that Ladakh is a young region and its youth constitute its greatest strength. With a large proportion of the population below 30 years of age, he said, the future of Ladakh rests significantly in the hands of its young people.