Started nearly six weeks back, Mission Youth in Jammu and Kashmir has already become a big hit as the administration can see a visible change in such a short duration. The initiative aims at benefiting the youth of the Union Territory through various schemes. It also seeks to engage them through a multi-pronged strategy.
In an exclusive interaction with Indian Masterminds, CEO of Mission Youth, IAS officer Mr Shahid Choudhary, explains the objective behind launching the initiative and the tremendous efforts put in by the team to see a productive change in the youth of J&K.
VISION AND MISSION
Mission Youth, unlike Government departments, is a registered society which is headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. It has advisors to LG, Chief Secretary and most of the Administrative Secretaries as members. It was registered on 3 March 2021under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
Mr Shahid Choudhary explained, “Mission Youth is a flagship youth-centric initiative where schemes, policies and interventions are framed based on demand, feedback and suggestions from the youth themselves. The involvement of the UT government and other administrative service members reflects the seriousness attached to Mission Youth viz a viz prompt decision making, inter-sectoral convergence on youth issues, liberal financing and efficient coordination.”
He further says, “It works as one-stop-solution for all youth aspirations, be it scholarships, fellowship, career counselling, skill development, placement, self-employment, financial assistance, psycho-social counselling, sports, innovation, scientific research, dialogue or anything else. The main idea is to provide solutions to collective and individual issues faced by the youth.”
“YOU NAME IT, WE HAVE IT”
As steps under Mission Youth are taken on suggestions from the youth themselves, Mr Shahid said “you name it, we have it”.
As the initiative was launched quite recently, it took off effectively last month after the efforts of the team were acknowledged in the first meeting of the Governing Body of Mission Youth, chaired by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. Mr Shahid said, “A number of schemes which were proposed were approved in the meeting and many are in the offing.”
Initiatives are being taken in all the sectors where the youth is facing issues, be it education, health and employment etc. The recent initiatives include establishment of District Youth Centres in all districts and psycho-social counselling centres in 8 districts. The `Mumkin’ (Possibility) scheme has also been launched, under which subsidized and fully financed commercial vehicles are being provided to the youth. Around 250 youth were provided with small commercial vehicles under this scheme.
There have been other initiatives too. The Tejaswini scheme was started to provide entrepreneurship support up to Rs 5 Lakh to women entrepreneurs. The super-75 scholarship was started for girl students and SuperB-75 for boys. Apart from this, under the University Collaboration Initiative, around 10,000 youth will be benefitted from 98 skill development courses. It covers more than 20 sub-schemes for students. More than 4,500 Youth Clubs have been started in all `panchayats’ and ULB wards. Free coaching for 3000 students appearing in various competitive examinations at the national level has also been started.
Besides, support for establishment of 200 Dental Clinics and 200 enterprises for youth affected by insurgency-related incidents has also been initiated.
Mr Shahid said, “We are working on 100 tourist villages lead by youth, establishment of digital libraries and string placement cell, coordination with national-level organisations for youth engagement, sports and student exchange programme among many others. Pertinently, at Mission Youth, schemes are demand-driven and we listen to suggestions.”
FUTURE OF YOUTH IN J&K
Mr Shahid said, “The recent launch of schemes in sectors like entrepreneurship, self-employment, coaching, fellowships, scholarships and sports have generated tremendous interest. We are overwhelmed by the suggestions, demands and feedback. I must say it’s an impressive start to an exciting journey ahead.”
Jammu and Kashmir being a sensitive area, there have been cases of youth being misled and lured into militancy. But by these initiatives, it’s hoped that youth will be empowered, leading to their growth in the right direction.
