J&K for placement of 60,000 youths

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday directed the Rural Development Department to ensure training and placement of 60,000 unemployed youth under livelihood mission 'Himayat' during the next financial year.
Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta passed the directions at a meeting convened to review the Himayat scheme - a skill development programme for the youth which is under implementation since 2011 and will close on March 31, 2023.
In its latest report, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged poor implementation of Himayat in Jammu and Kashmir and said only 4,494 aspirants were given skill training under the scheme as against a target of 53,547 between 2016-19.
Mehta said the training and consequent job placement of 60,000 youth under Himayat and other self-employment initiatives launched by the government would further its objective of driving down unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir to below five per cent.
The chief secretary said as the scheme will close on March 31, 2023, the department should target short term skill-based courses spanning three to nine months.
He advised the department to put in place a proper institutional mechanism for regular monitoring of the implementation of the scheme.
Mehta also directed the department to ensure that trainings under Himayat are arranged in sectors like hospitality, industries, housing and urban development, tourism, medical labs, water testing labs in the Jal Shakti department, as there is going to be increased demand in these sectors due to investment in industries, heightened infrastructure development in these sectors and increased tourist activity in Jammu and Kashmir.
He advised the department to consult with the concerned authorities in the states which have excelled in the implementation of Himayat like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha as well as the officials in the Ministry of Rural Development to further improve the implementation of the scheme in Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, commissioner secretary, RDD, Mandeep Kour in her presentation informed that around 19,000 youth have been trained while around 4,000 have been given job placements up until now since the inception of the scheme.