Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a high-level Apex Committee meeting in Jammu to review the progress of Mission YUVA, the government’s flagship youth entrepreneurship and employment initiative in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by key officials, including Secretary Labour & Employment Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, Principal Secretary Finance Santosh D. Vaidya, Vice-Chancellors of various universities, senior officers from Industries & Commerce, H&UDD, Cooperatives, RDD, IIM Jammu, J&K Bank, NABARD, and IIT Jammu, among others.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasized the importance of targeting specific focus groups such as college students, members of Self-Help Groups (particularly Lakhpati Didis), Vishwakarma-sponsored artisans, and nano-enterprise owners for support under the mission.
He directed departments to ensure Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) are meticulously prepared to reduce the risk of business failure and called for continuous capacity building of applicants. Stressing the need for professionalism in implementation, he urged the immediate hiring of skilled manpower for the Project Management Unit (PMU).
Dulloo also asked financial institutions to play a more proactive role in helping applicants prepare quality DPRs and clear existing pendencies in a time-bound manner. “Banks must fast-track loan approvals and disbursals so that eligible youth do not face delays in setting up their ventures,” he said.
While expressing satisfaction with the mission’s progress so far, the Chief Secretary called for greater synergy among stakeholders to scale up impact and outreach.
Principal Secretary Finance Santosh D. Vaidya underscored that the success of Mission YUVA depends on three key pillars—skilling youth, ensuring financial access through banks, and establishing strong market linkages. He stressed using existing institutional frameworks to keep implementation practical and outcome-driven.
Director IIM Jammu proposed the development of a year-long calendar of capacity-building activities, identifying topics and expert institutions for training.
Providing a progress report, Secretary Labour & Employment Kumar Rajeev Ranjan shared that the mission has received 42,334 applications so far, including 36,951 for nano-enterprises, 1,557 for new MSMEs, and 210 from existing MSMEs. Additionally, 90,611 users have registered on the YUVA portal, with 20,304 applications verified by Single Business Development Units (SBDUs) and 15,438 approved by District Level Implementation Committees (DLICs).
At the banking level, 15,771 applications worth ₹1,071.43 crore have been submitted. Of these, 4,190 projects have been sanctioned and 2,087 disbursed, showing strong momentum. The average project cost stands at ₹6.3 lakh, with banks having sanctioned ₹264.47 crore, disbursed ₹133.46 crore, and subsidies worth ₹23.18 crore claimed so far.
Director Employment, Shahzad Alam, highlighted the mission’s digital outreach, stating that the YUVA mobile app has crossed 50,000 downloads, and the portal has logged over 9 lakh visitors, positioning it among the most transparent and accessible youth empowerment platforms in the UT.
The Chief Secretary later reviewed the live YUVA Dashboard, examining district-wise performance metrics such as application approvals, credit disbursals, DPR submissions, skilling activities, and pendencies. He also reviewed the impact of Udyam Jagriti sessions being held across J&K to build entrepreneurship awareness.