A high level review meeting of Mission YUVA, the flagship youth entrepreneurship initiative of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, was held today under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary at Civil Secretariat, Srinagar.

Advisor to Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani;  Administrative Secretary, Skill Development Department, Rajeev Ranjan; Secretary, Information Technology Department, Piyush Singla; Director, Skill Development Department and Mission Director, Mission YUVA, Shahzad Alam; Director, J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Khalid Jahangir; Director Finance, Labour & Employment, Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani; Additional Secretary, Labour & Employment, Shahid Mehmood besides senior officials of the concerned department were present during the meeting.

The Mission Director presented a comprehensive progress report, highlighting the outreach efforts, institutional tie-ups and the financial disbursal status across all the districts. He apprised that the Mission YUVA has been designed on four pillars including Culture, Capital, Capacity Building and Connectivity. It envisaged creating more than 1.37 lakh new enterprises and 4.25 lakh employment opportunities across J&K, he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister, while appreciating the achievements recorded, so far, issued key directions to further strengthen the implementation framework of the Mission. He directed the concerned to involve all major nationalized banks, in addition to J&K Bank, to enhance the credit access and widen financial outreach for the aspiring entrepreneurs. He also suggested enhancing the incentives and financial support being provided under Mission YUVA schemes to make entrepreneurship a more viable and attractive option.

He also asked to involve J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) in preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to ensure quality and viability of projects. He further asked to ensure provisions for land allocation to landless youth seeking to set up enterprises, especially under government schemes.

Emphasizing on creating startup ecosystems and neo initiative enterprises, the Deputy Chief Minister called for setting up a cross sectoral business support ecosystem for growth of entrepreneurship at all levels with generation of mass employment opportunities through enterprise creation.

The Deputy Chief Minister underscored the importance of timely hand holding, grassroots awareness campaigns and convergence with skilling and digital platforms to unlock the full potential of youth-led development in J&K.

Advisor to Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, while speaking on the occasion, stressed on greater coordination among the departments and institutions to translate the Mission’s vision into tangible opportunities on the ground.