Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has earmarked ₹244 crore for the Labour and Employment sector under capital expenditure this year, an increase of ₹98 crore over previous allocations, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said while outlining sectoral initiatives.
He said employment generation through entrepreneurship remains a key priority, with Mission YUVA serving as the flagship self-employment programme. The Mission has achieved extensive grassroots outreach, with nearly two lakh downloads of its mobile application and participation from about 95 per cent of panchayats. So far, around 7,000 applications have been submitted through the platform.
To support entrepreneurs, 27 Business Development Units have been set up at the district level and 18 business helpline desks at sub-divisional levels, assisted by nearly 2,000 YUVA volunteers. As a result, 47,000 applications have been approved by district committees, of which 16,500 enterprises have been sanctioned by banks. Nearly ₹800 crore has already been disbursed in the first year, while about 2,000 applications are under active processing.
The Chief Minister said capacity building is a core focus of Mission YUVA, with over 8,000 entrepreneurs trained so far and around 5,000 currently undergoing training. A digital dashboard and mobile application ensure real-time monitoring, transparency and ease of access.
The government plans to scale up Mission YUVA through convergence with skilling, credit and market-linkage initiatives, supported by adequate budgetary provisions. A comprehensive skilling framework covering school-level skills, internships, placements and coaching has also been developed.
Under skill infrastructure expansion, five new ITIs will be established as hub ITIs, while polytechnics will be restructured under the Skill University initiative and ITIs strengthened through PM SETU. On-the-job training under PM MAPS is also underway.
For labour welfare, a toll-free helpline has been launched, and labour infrastructure is being enhanced with new labour sarais planned in Anantnag, Rajouri, Budgam, Vashbog and Pulwama, along with upgrades at Kathua and a proposed model labour sarai at Nowshera.
