Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, today chaired a high-level review meeting to assess progress under the Himayat (DDU-GKY) scheme and to discuss the upcoming rollout of Himayat 2.0 across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting focused on evaluating performance under the current Annual Action Plan 2025–26, reviewing sanctioned projects, and outlining a future roadmap for enhanced youth skilling, placements, and livelihood opportunities.
Chief Operating Officer Himayat, Rajneesh Gupta; Joint Director (Planning), Kamal Kumar; State Project Manager, Sajad Choudhary; and other senior officers of the Himayat Mission Management Unit (HMMU) attended the meeting.
While reviewing Himayat 1.0, the Secretary was informed that 34,294 youth have been trained under the scheme, with 14,702 candidates placed in diverse sectors. He lauded the scheme’s contribution in generating livelihoods, especially in remote and underserved areas.
Himayat 2.0 has now been launched with a target of skilling and placing 2,248 candidates during 2025-26. The revamped version aligns training with emerging high-growth sectors such as IT-enabled services, telecom, aviation, green energy, and cybersecurity, while continuing support to traditional sectors.
The Secretary emphasized focused implementation in rural and border districts to bring marginalized youth into the mainstream through skill training and entrepreneurship support.
He reviewed the status of ongoing projects and directed timely completion of the Skill Gap Analysis to ensure training is demand-driven. The Secretary also called for organizing job fairs in Jammu and Srinagar, and for holding a Himayat Alumni Meet in Srinagar in mid-July 2025.
To boost visibility and outreach, he directed scaling up of IEC campaigns including wall paintings, FM radio messaging, and pamphlet distribution to increase awareness and engagement under the scheme.
A detailed presentation was delivered by the COO Himayat, highlighting the scheme’s physical and financial progress, achievements, and implementation strategy under DDU-GKY 2.0.