SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has identified employment generation through entrepreneurship as a key priority, with Mission YUVA emerging as a central pillar of its self-employment strategy, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while outlining sectoral initiatives.
The Chief Minister said Mission YUVA has achieved wide grassroots outreach across the Union Territory. The Mission YUVA mobile application has recorded around two lakh downloads, with applications received from nearly 95 per cent of panchayats. So far, around 7,000 applications have been received through the platform.
The Labour and Employment sector has been allocated Rs 244 crore under capital expenditure for the year, marking an increase of Rs 98 crore compared to previous years, the Chief Minister said.
To support aspiring entrepreneurs, 27 Business Development Units have been established at the district level, along with 18 business helpline desks at the sub-divisional level. In addition, around 2,000 YUVA volunteers are engaged at the grassroots to assist applicants throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
As a result of these efforts, 47,000 applications have been approved by district-level committees. Of these, 16,500 enterprises have been sanctioned by banks, with nearly Rs 800 crore already disbursed in the first year of implementation. Another 2,000 applications are currently under active processing and are expected to be sanctioned shortly, while returned applications are being reprocessed, the Chief Minister said.
Capacity building remains an integral component of Mission YUVA. More than 8,000 entrepreneurs have completed structured training programmes, while around 5,000 are currently undergoing development programmes.
To ensure transparency, efficiency and accountability, Mission YUVA is supported by a comprehensive digital dashboard that enables real-time monitoring. The mobile application functions as a one-stop digital platform for aspiring entrepreneurs and is already fully operational.
The Chief Minister said the government plans to further scale up Mission YUVA in the coming years through convergence with skilling, credit and market linkage initiatives, supported by an adequate budget. He said a comprehensive framework has been developed covering foundational skilling, school-level skill development, career launch pads alongside graduation, internships, placements and accessible coaching.
Industry-ready technical skilling and restructuring of polytechnics are proposed under the Skill University initiative, while ITIs are being strengthened through PM SETU. On-the-job training under the PM MAPS scheme is also underway.
As part of skill infrastructure expansion, five new ITIs will be established as hub ITIs under a new central scheme. These will serve as centres for advanced training and high-end industrial and vocational education.
To improve labour welfare, a toll-free helpline has been established to provide timely support to workers. Infrastructure for labour mobility and security is being enhanced through the construction of new labour sarais in Anantnag and Rajouri, along with the upgradation of the Kathua labour sarai. Additional labour sarais are planned in Budgam, Vashbog and Pulwama, while a model labour sarai at Nowshera is also in the pipeline.
