Central Government in general and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in particular have always shown very serious concern about the growing number of educated unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir State. The Centre has rarely turned down any scheme or project conceived by the State Government that aims at eradicating unemployment among the youth especially the educated ones. Centre has floated various schemes aiming at providing gainful employment or self-employment for the unemployed youth of the State.
It will be remembered that some time back the Prime Minister’s office deputed a special team to the State to prepare a report on the employment prospect of educated unemployed in the State. Actually there were many reports coming in from various quarters that one of the reason why the youth were attracted to insurgency and aberration in Kashmir was that they were unemployed. This is the reason why the State Government has taken special measures to provide various incentives to the youth to engage themselves in self employment. However, the Rangarajan Report had pointed out that one important factor that could go a long way in opening careers for the youth of J&K, was to provide them such training and skills as would make them eligible for induction into the employment of corporate houses. This suggestion was seriously considered and the Home Ministry has finally cleared five corporate houses that would be making a selection of 2055 graduates and post graduates of the State for undergoing training and for imparting skills at their organizations.
Actually the project is known as Special Industry Initiative and Udaan is the scheme under which the selection and deputation of the graduates/post graduates will be made. Udaan aims at providing skills to 40,000 youth over a period of 5 years in high growth sectors. It has twin objectives of providing exposure to Graduates and Post Graduates of Jammu and Kashmir to the best of corporate India, and providing corporate India with exposure to the rich talent pool available in the State. Thus the scheme benefits both parties.
Five corporate sectors, whose proposals the MHA has cleared for training and absorption of Jammu and Kashmir youths, included Ratnakar Bank, Counseillers-en-Gestion-et-Informatique (CGI) Group, Indian Overseas Bank, MC Grawhill Education and Genpact Limited. They will depute their teams to finalize the selection.
The scheme under which the graduates and post graduates of the State will receive training and learn skills enabling them to find employment is not an obligation on them. They are the citizens of India and they have a right to ask the Government for providing them work. But at the same time the youth should be grateful to the Prime Minister who has other important matters to attend has taken special interest and offered largesse to the youth of the State. During the current year, 15,000 youth of Jammu and Kashmir have to be imparted training and provided employment in private companies under Hamada. Nearly 7000 youth have been so far provided jobs under the programme. But only those candidates will be considered for these schemes who have registered themselves with the District Employment and Counselling Centres.
The Special Industry Initiative of the Prime Minister is actually an initiative to promote various skills among the youth of the country so that they are prepared to undertake self employment initiatives. No doubt the Government is the biggest employer but it has already come to a saturation point. It cannot absorb more employees. Naturally it is the industry that has the capacity to meet the employment requirement. We appreciate that policy planners have realised that the youth of J&K State should get exposure and not remain confined to the State alone. If they are equipped with adequate skills in various fields, they can improve their income sours and live a better life. We propose that Prime Minister’s initiative of special Industry Initiative should become a permanent feature so that future generations have lesser worries about livelihood.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel