The Indian Army has been conducting Operation Sadbhavna as a humanitarian social development programmer to uplift the local population of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and re-integrate them into the national mainstream. Through these initiatives, efforts are being made to bridge the gap between the local population and the civil administration, to provide a conducive environment for the economy to grow, provide people with livelihood and bring back normalcy in the region. This initiative is over and above the primary mandate of the Indian Army. The Indian Army has the primary roles of guarding the territorial integrity of the country and maintaining peace, stability and tranquility in the area. Indian Army has also been entrusted with and undertaking successfully, social impact projects and community engagement, in the Union Territories of J&K, for last four decades.

The Indian Army under Social Impact projects focuses on three major verticals in Gurez which are Education, Women Empowerment & Livelihood. Under Education, Army Goodwill School are successfully operated in the region, where the focus is now on E Learning, Teachers Training and Infrastructure development. For Women empowerment, skill development programs have been given priority and for improving livelihood, tourism is being promoted as a major vertical and the Indian Army is facilitating practical trade skills training for hoteliers and homestay owners, which is propelling the economy and sustainable tourism. Also various initiatives on social media have been undertaken to promote Gurez as a tourist destination as a result of this initiative, Gurez has also been selected as the best offbeat destination by outlook travellers in 2022.
The Indian Army in Gurez Valley conducts major initiatives such as the Jashn-e-Gurez, A cultural festival to promote tourism in Gurez Valley, various sports Leagues, medical camps, celebrating national days and international days for creating awareness on social issues. Apart from these major projects, the Army also conducts awareness programs, for furthering of incubation of entrepreneurial groups and self-help groups. The Indian Army runs Stitching Skill Development Centre, wherein women of Gurez are trained in stitching, which has provided them a national platform to sell their products. The focus area entails reaching out to the Local population in the region, knowing their problems and providing solutions through the army or in close coordination with the civil administration. This also entails helping the Local population during emergencies and natural disasters be it medical, fire or avalanches. The Indian Army has focused on meaningful impactful projects which are sustainable and empowering the Local population, the priority remains on increasing the livelihood and making the youth and women of Gurez “Aatm Nirbhar”.
The Indian Army has built strategic partnerships with NGOs, Corporate Organisations and Government Departments like the Lalit Group of Hotels which is providing training for the hoteliers and home stay owners of Gurez. Fashion brands and NGOs are being engaged for supporting the Stitching Skill Development center in terms of skill development and knowhow of marketing the products. With the efforts of the Indian army the region is peaceful and stable, due to which Mr Onir a renowned Bollywood Director, came to Gurez to shoot for his movie, which is a testimony of normalcy returning in the region and most of all providing a boost to the revenue generation in the local economy. The army has been working towards fostering sustainable relationships with various organizations to bridge the skill gap of the local population in order to fulfill their aspirations and to improve their living standards. The Indian Army has thus benefited from the warm relationship with the Local population of Gurez and has relentlessly strived to be a catalyst in development of Gurez.