Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo reviews progress of financial inclusion, welfare schemes across J&K

Jammu, Nov 11: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo chaired a comprehensive review meeting of the Finance Department to assess the progress made in promoting financial inclusion and extending coverage of key welfare and social security schemes across J&K.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Finance, Santosh D. Vaidya; MD, J&K Bank; Secretary, IT; Secretary, School Education; DG, Budget; DG, Economics & Statistics; MD, Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BOCWWB); representatives of other banks besides other senior officers, said an official press release.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasised the importance of mobilizing all eligible beneficiaries, particularly those in the unorganised sector for enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) scheme, which provides a guaranteed monthly pension of Rs3,000 to unorganized workers after attaining the age of 60 years. He directed the concerned district administrations to take proactive measures for achieving universal enrollment by designating local Labour Offices, EPFO and ESIC offices as facilitation centres to create mass awareness and assist in registration under the scheme.

Dulloo further instructed the Finance Department to share comprehensive datasets of eligible beneficiaries, including building and construction workers, MDM workers, street vendors and others, with the banks to expedite their enrollment without delay.

Taking note of the district-wise performance, the Chief Secretary urged officers to adopt a targeted and coordinated approach to bridge the gap between current coverage and the national averages under each of the financial inclusion and welfare schemes. He underscored the need for clear identification of target groups, defining outreach strategies, and assigning specific institutional responsibilities to ensure focused saturation across the UT.

Providing an overview of the progress, Principal Secretary, Finance, informed that the department has identified nearly 5.46 lakh unorganized workers to be targeted for enrollment under PMSYM. He also highlighted significant achievements under various financial inclusion initiatives.

The meeting also reviewed the progress under the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCWW) Welfare Board, under which 5.90 lakh workers have been registered till October 2025. Moreover, the Social Welfare Department has extended old-age, widow, and disability pensions to nearly 8.6 lakh beneficiaries across the UT thereby bringing the beneficiary ratio to around 600 per 10,000 population in J&K.

The Chief Secretary commended the efforts made so far and called for intensified and coordinated action at all administrative levels to achieve full saturation under all welfare and social security schemes in a time-bound and mission-mode manner.