Opinion | Youth: Give them hope and opportunity 

Above all, the present happy engagement of the youth needs to be protected from drug menace which is the part of phenomena of terrorism.

Government job is not the only alternative to fight or overcome unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir. Before some years, our unemployed youth was specific to government jobs only, because there were fewer opportunities available for them in other fields. It was either because of the turmoil or the least attention towards youth empowerment and engagement beyond the government sector. The last two years have seen a drastic change in youth development, empowerment, and engagement with some great initiatives.

The state government has taken various initiatives, policies and schemes specifically for youth engagement. These all projects for the unemployed are to provide and facilitate a platform to be independent, to provide jobs to others, to believe in self-development, self sustain and self reliance and to contribute towards nation-building. Youth who were radicalized and misinterpreted by the agents in Kashmir through different religious bigotry and to use them as a cannon to fulfill their nefarious design has ultimately failed. The pro-youth initiative takes youth on board and makes their corridors successful. The main reason behind violence in Kashmir was due to the mismanagement and lack of opportunities for the unemployed youth. It was due to the radicalization provoked by the agents available in Kashmir who radicalized our youth at different platforms, schools, colleges and universities that were the most hit which made them the victims and vulnerable.

The fact of the matter is that for the last some years there was a concrete youth mission and engagement. The governments were busy controlling them from getting involved in any provocation, violence and stone pelting.
To overcome unemployment, Jammu and Kashmir have taken various initiatives, schemes and policies to engage unemployed youth. Mission youth a separate department has been established for youth engagement. “Mission Youth” is a government initiative particularly for 15 to 25 years of youth and JKUT is bestowed with a predominantly young population with about 69 % of the population between the 15- 35 age group. This is the first kind that mission for the youth was designed for their involvement and engagement.

This is the mission & strategy to facilitate youth to become ambassadors of peace, prosperity & socio-economic growth through systematic interventions across domains. Over 200 skilled youth, 80 pulse livelihoods generated, 20 schemes and initiatives 100 counseling centers have been opened under Mission Youth vision.

Under mission youth ‘Mumkin’ scheme was established and is a livelihood program designed primarily for the unemployed young in the age bracket of 18 to 35 years. Under the ‘Mumkin’ scheme, small commercial vehicles are being provided to the youth with a banking partner extending the loan facility to the extent of 100 percent for the on-road price of the vehicle to be purchased.
Mission Youth, J&K, provides an amount of Rs 80,000 or 10 percent for the on-road price of the vehicle (whichever is lesser) as an upfront subsidy and the vehicle manufacturers (scheme partner of government) provide an upfront special discount, not less than the amount of subsidy.

The Jammu and Kashmir government is empowering and encouraging young women through the ambitious ‘Tejaswini scheme’ by providing financial assistance for setting up gainful self-employment ventures, suited to their skills, training, aptitude and local conditions. The broad aim of this start-up funding program for adolescents and young women of UT is to make them empowered and self-dependent through their business ventures. There are many other schemes under Mission Youth that are highly beneficial for the youth. Youth must try to get benefited from these schemes.

At the end of the day, youth is power; their energy must be utilized in the right direction for the progress of the nation. Our youth is our asset, we must fight for their rights and governments should ensure every possible justice to them. More attention on private firms, industries and new business units needed to be incorporated by the government. Above all, the happy engagement of the youth needs to be preserved from the drugs which are correlated with terrorism which leads to destruction and devastation.
(Writer can be reached at :
vadaiekashmir@gmail.com)