Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo reviews implementation of Mission YUVA

Srinagar, Oct 23: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress and implementation of Mission YUVA, taking a detailed appraisal of achievements made so far and charting the future course of action with concerned departments and stakeholders.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretaries of Higher Education, Planning, and Agriculture Production Departments; Principal Secretary, Finance; Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce; Secretaries of Employment and Rural Development Departments; Director Employment; Director, Handicrafts (Kashmir), besides other senior officers.

Vice-Chancellors of Universities, Managing Director, J&K Bank, and Deputy Commissioners participated through video conferencing.

While reviewing the progress under Mission YUVA, the Chief Secretary directed the Employment Department and J&K Bank to adopt proactive measures to meet the targets set for the current financial year. He emphasized that loans worth Rs 1,000 crore must be disbursed to facilitate grounding of projects worth Rs 2,000 crore, thereby enabling aspiring entrepreneurs to establish viable business ventures.

He underscored the need for enhancing the capacity of beneficiaries to transform their ventures into successful enterprises and called for convergence of all employment generation initiatives such as Lakhpati Didis under JKRLM, PMEGP, HADP, JKCIP, and PMFME with Mission YUVA to maximize their collective impact.

Highlighting the significance of grassroots-level support systems, Dulloo directed that the Single Block Development Units (SBDUs), Block Handholding Desks (BHDs), and YUVA Doots under the Mission be optimally utilized to facilitate on-ground execution and synergy with other government schemes.

He further instructed banks to depute their representatives to the BHDs at block level to streamline the process of approvals and ensure timely sanction and disbursal of loans. Deputy Commissioners were asked to closely monitor the establishment of enterprises by beneficiaries and expedite processes from District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC) approvals to bank sanctions and loan disbursals. The Chief Secretary also urged districts to complete the recruitment of required manpower for smooth functioning of Mission YUVA structures.

To ensure wider outreach, the Chief Secretary called for involving legislators, public figures, and local influencers in awareness campaigns. He advised strategizing engagement with focus groups such as Lakhpati Didis, PM Vishwakarma beneficiaries, PMKVY trainees, and artisans from the handicraft sector, encouraging their participation under Mission YUVA.

The Chief Secretary was also apprised about the buyer-seller app developed under the Mission to facilitate market linkages for registered enterprises and about initiatives to promote incubation and innovation-driven entrepreneurship in the Union Territory. Reiterating the government’s commitment to fostering youth entrepreneurship, Dulloo emphasized that Mission YUVA represents a transformative step towards empowering youth, enabling self-reliance, and creating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem across Jammu and Kashmir.