With additional central sponsored funding of Rs 200 crore, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha led government in Jammu and Kashmir is all set up several district youth centres (DYCs) in order to connect the young population with several public outreach programmes.
These DYCs are being set up as part of interventions in six key areas under the Mission Youth initiative — livelihood generation, education/skill development, counselling (psycho-social and career), systematic financial assistance, sports and recreation — for which the government is also working with reputed corporate houses of India, including Reliance Foundation, Ashok Leyland, and the Tata group.
According to officials, Reliance would be setting up sports leagues in the union territory, while the Tata Group would invest in the IT and education sectors. The Tata group in this regard has already inked MoUs with the government and Sill Development Department. The officials said that the DYCs would address several of the aforementioned six areas.
“DYC is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at providing a conducive environment for youth, who can visit the facility for education, social and recreational purposes,” said a senior official at Skill Development Department. He said that it would be a first-of-its-kind initiative to help the youth of J&K actualise their potential. “Our aim is to become a facilitator in the realisation of their dreams & aspirations,” said an official.
Meanwhile another official said that Mission Youth J&K will work towards providing an enabling environment for the youth in the designated six areas of intervention. We have identified deliverables and are working hard to achieve tangible outcomes for the youth of J&K. These centres would provide facilities like libraries, amphitheatres, auditoriums, creative studios, discussion rooms, skill labs and recreation rooms.
“Jammu and Kashmir Mission Youth is embarking on a unique journey of giving wings to aspirations of youth in J&K,” said CEO Mission Youth, Shahid Choudhary.
According to officials the ‘Mission Youth’, headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has got shot in the arm with approval of Rs 200 crore worth funds from the Central Government for 2021-22 taking total funding to Rs 300 crore as the UT will be contributing Rs 100 crore in the Mission.
The ‘Mission Youth’ has Advisors, Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam and majority of Administrative Secretaries in the Governing Body while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the Member-Secretary.
Officials said that few initiatives of the Mission include rehabilitation, focus on fostering positive social experience, opening District Youth Centres and engaging youth in cultural, recreational events, sports and ‘Bharat Darshan’ tours etc “Mission has been asked to provide post-reintegration rehabilitation, synchronization of drug de-addiction programmes and social recognition to youth through Programmed Interventions,” said the official.
The officials said that the two Centres of Excellence in the automobile sector, one each in Kashmir and Jammu regions will be shortly started, the officials said, adding that every district of Jammu and Kashmir will have super-specialized district youth centres.
The Mission, which has been established as a Society, will provide institutional mechanisms for psycho-social support to youth on scientific lines and synchronize and coordinate all schemes pertaining to the youth for making them result-oriented. It will also provide means of institutional social outreach to young population.
Campus recruitments in collaboration with reputed institutions/organizations of the country, promotion entrepreneurship, sector specific livelihood generation programmes, systematic assistance to potential entrepreneurs, concurrent business tracking and support, professional career guidance, sponsored targeted coaching and customized skill development trainings for the youth are among other key provisions of the Mission, the officials said.
“At an estimated investment of Rs 300 cr in next one year the Jammu and Kashmir Government intends to engage with youth to give practical shape to their aspirations, ideas and career options,” according to the officials.
The current initiative rolled out by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha is indicating a major shift in focus of the Government to realize the power of youth for the overall development of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. From education, skill development, career guidance, placement to entertainment and entrepreneurship, the ‘Mission Youth’ will serve as a one-stop solution for youth aspirations, they said.
It may be mentioned here that the Administrative Council had approved registration of the ‘Mission Youth’ as a Society under the Societies Registration Act.
To enhance skill and employability of the youth, the Mission has partnered with institutions such as ICICI Foundation, BSE Institute and Ashok Leyland among many other Corporate houses.