Srinagar, June 28: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today launched the much awaited Mission Youth (Youth Udmi Vikas Abhiyan) at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Center (SKICC), which is a visionary initiative to make 1.37 lakh enterprises in 5 years and 4.25 lakh ventures in 4.25 lakhs.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the program as a transformative initiative, which was aimed at empowering the youth of Jammu and Kashmir through the development of entrepreneurship, financial assistance and opportunity-rich ecosystem.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister confirmed his government’s commitment to fulfill the aspirations of the youth of the region.
He said, “I promise the youth of Jammu and Kashmir that I will try my best to take you to the height where you will not only write a better luck for yourself, but for Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Ministers Sekena Itu, Javed Rana and Satish Sharma attended the launch event; Advisor to Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani; Chief Secretary Atal Dulu; Additional Chief Secretary to CM Dheeraj Gupta; Managing Director and CEO J&K bank Amitabh Chatterjee; Many MLAs; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Secretary Labor and Employment Kumar Rajiv Ranjan; Mission Director Mission Youth Shahzad Alam; And a host of other dignitaries. The site also saw an enthusiastic presence of young entrepreneurs of Jammu and Kashmir.
Congratulating the people on the launch of Mission Youth, the Chief Minister said that it is not that the previous governments did not attempt to resolve the issue; Various schemes have been implemented in the past. He said, “I will not stand here and claim that none of them have worked. But every plan can be improved, and gives a lesson to learn from each. By joining with all of you, we can better understand how to strengthen such efforts,” he said.
Referring to the previous initiatives, he recalled that during his last term, his government also developed a plan focused on young entrepreneurship. “We worked diligently with the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development (EDI) and successfully made many entrepreneurs. Certainly, not all of them succeeded, but whenever I go to different places, I often meet someone who tells me that they start their business under the youth (SkwiP) scheme under our Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Program.
Speaking on the disintegration of earlier plans, he said, “Unfortunately, our government who had worried more than changing the name of the program than continuing its vision. Let me clearly say: Mission should not be the name of youth. It should not be the name of any party, any leader – nor my name.
The Chief Minister insisted on the Grassroots Foundation of the Flagship Program, which said,
“This initiative is not the result of the decisions made behind the closed doors-this is created on broad fieldwork, baseline survey, adequate views and time, and collective efforts. The data compiled today, as shown in the publication released today, will provide departments a valuable basis to shape their future policies and programs. A practice can be called in a practice.
The findings indicate that the mission can potentially manufacture over 1.5 lakh entrepreneurs and more than 4 lakh jobs, with more than 30% participation from women.
Highlighting funding as a major obstacle for the youth, CM said, “Whenever we talk to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common concern is lack of funding. Records remain the biggest obstacle to finance. Under Mission Yuva, we are committed to removing this barrier. We need to take a loan from a bank.
He said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will also be used to prepare Bank-Taiyar DPRS to eliminate delays and rejection in loan approval.
“No matter how good your idea is, until it reaches the market, your business will fight. That is why the mission youth also focuses on the support of market linkage and ecosystem.”
The Chief Minister praised the humility of the team which conceptualized the mission.