Srinagar: In a positive development, the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir has dipped to 15.6 percent in April.
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) figures, J&K has a 15.6 percent unemployment rate, which was 25 percent during the month of March.
“Jammu and Kashmir government has set a target to bring down the unemployment rate to below 5 percent within this year. We are hopeful that with the number of investments coming up, J&K would soon witness a private sector boom which would create ample opportunities for youngsters,” said a senior government official.
The higher unemployment rate in J&K has been a cause of concern for the administration in the past as well.
The unemployment rates are produced by CMIE using its Consumer Pyramids Household Survey machinery. CMIE has pegged India’s unemployment rate at 7.6 percent which means J&K has a much higher unemployment rate than the national average.
The rising unemployment rate in J&K continues to be a lingering problem for the youth who are forced to run after government jobs in absence of a strong private sector in J&K.
Besides these official figures, there are other data sources which indicate the severity of unemployment in J&K. For example, the employment registration carried out by the Directorate of Employment in 2020 witnessed three lakh registrations by postgraduates and PhD degree holders.
J&K Service Selection Board advertisement for 8000 class IV posts saw a whopping 5.4 lakh aspirants applying.
As per the official figures, the New Industrial Policy is expected to create 4.5 lakh jobs in J&K.
The new policy has a spending outlay of Rs 28,400 crore (Rs 284 billion), the largest incentive to date, for the industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir for the next 15 years. “It is expected to generate an investment of Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) and employment of 4.5 lakh over the plan period.” said an official.
Similarly, under Mission Youth, the Government has launched a Youth data Portal for creating a database of youth so as to map their support requirements as per their needs and aspirations.
A provision for the assistance of youth in reputed coaching institutes for UPSC and state psc exams under the aegis of the Parvaaz Scheme has also been established under Mission Youth.
The most important scheme under the Mission Youth is Mumkin through which small commercial vehicles are provided to beneficiaries, with banking partners extending loan facilities up to 100 percent of the vehicle’s on-road price.