Govt Decides to Provide Employment Opportunities to 50,000 Youth from J&K

Continuing with its Kashmir outreach after Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's meeting with Opposition leaders from the valley earlier this week, the government has decided to provide employment opportunities to 50,000 youth from Jammu and Kashmir.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs will pilot this ambitious project which is being seen as part of a double-pronged strategy - dialogue and development.

The announcement comes while Home Minister Rajnath Singh camps in Srinagar to calm tempers in the valley. The recurring cycle of violence in the valley has on the last count claimed close to 70 lives while large parts of the state have been under uninterrupted curfew for more than seven weeks now since the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

In a statement after his meeting with a delegation of Opposition leaders led by former CM Omar Abdullah, the Prime Minister had expressed deep concern and pain at the prevailing situation in the state. Appealing for restoration of normalcy he had expressed commitment towards the development of the state and the people.

"The idea is to train these youth, and provide them employment in the private sector. Even school dropouts can opt for the scheme which we will be implementing with support from the private sector," says Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

The ministry plans to dovetail government's skill development mission with the requirements of the industry to guarantee employment at the end of the training.

The blueprint of the scheme lays as much importance on employment generation as on national integration as trained personnel will be posted across the country with hospitals, real estate and private security agencies.

In another development, the Ministry of Minority Affairs is planning to build Sadbhav Mandaps in minority-dominated localities in the country. In the first leg of the program, 1000 such pavilions will be built to cater to largely poor population among the minorities.

These pavilions can also be utilised for holding private functions like weddings and also for educational activities in localities with poor infrastructure.