SRINAGAR: Mission YUVA has disbursed loans worth Rs 1,826 crore to 32,665 accounts and helped establish 13,597 enterprises across Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
The progress of the youth entrepreneurship programme was reviewed at a meeting of its Apex Committee chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo.
The meeting was informed that the mission has received 1,42,196 applications as of September 7, a 37 per cent increase from 1,04,067 on May 15. SBDU verifications rose by 34 per cent to 80,965, while District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC) approvals increased by 39 per cent to 75,791.
Loan sanctions have risen by 53 per cent to Rs 1,992 crore across 37,171 accounts, while disbursements reached Rs 1,826 crore across 32,665 accounts, also registering a 53 per cent increase.
Commercial banks are processing around 2,800 applications a month, while the final sanction rate improved from 23 per cent in July to 40 per cent in August, the meeting was told.
The number of operational enterprises under the mission has risen by 58 per cent since May to 13,597, while another 6,777 enterprises are in the work-in-progress stage. Work-in-progress report submissions have increased by 70 per cent.
The meeting was also informed that 36,474 students and entrepreneurs have completed training and certification under the capacity-building and mentorship component, an increase of 73 per cent since the previous review.
As many as 2,645 entrepreneurs have been mentored by 482 onboarded mentors. Enterprise mentorship completion has increased seven-fold since the last review.
Youth mobilisation under the mission has also increased, with the Yuva Jagriti 5.0 campaign reaching 88,300 people, a 42 per cent rise from the previous review.
The average daily application intake under the cultural mobilisation and public awareness component increased from 280 to 390 over the past three months, while female-led applications rose from 91 to 160 per day.
The share of female applicants increased from 27 per cent to 31 per cent, with 78 per cent of female applications being driven by self-help groups, officials said.
Business hackathons launched on August 15 have reached 18,000 students across more than 255 educational institutions and generated over 1,300 business ideas. The campaign will continue till September 16.
The mission has also expanded its digital commerce network, with the number of J&K merchant storefronts onboarded on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) rising by 329 per cent since May to 9,266.
Of these, 2,067 are dedicated Mission YUVA youth stores, providing entrepreneurs access to the national digital marketplace.
Dulloo directed departments, financial institutions, training institutions and field-level functionaries to improve coordination and ensure that applications translate into viable enterprises and employment opportunities.
He also stressed the need for continued field mobilisation, timely processing of applications, handholding of beneficiaries and greater participation of women and youth.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Finance, Planning, Industries and Commerce, Education and Rural Development departments, besides representatives of J&K Bank, IIM Jammu, JKRLM, universities, SKUAST and NABARD. Deputy commissioners from all districts joined the meeting through video conferencing.
