Srinagar: To strengthen rural economy and empower the youth and women by direct and indirect employment opportunities, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has identified 181 villages having picturesque beauty and cultural significance for transformation into tourist destinations under Tourist Villages Development Program (TVDP).
Under Mission Youth’s initiative, registered youth and Self Help Groups are provided an opportunity to be a part of the government’s endeavour to boost rural tourism in J&K, an official spokesperson said.
He said the youth-led sustainable tourism initiative will strengthen rural economy and community entrepreneurship, empowering youth and women by providing direct and indirect employment opportunities. This step will showcase the landscapes, indigenous knowledge systems, cultural diversity and heritage, local values and traditions, besides encouraging film shooting and offering financial incentives as well as ensuring a digital platform to all these villages.
“Mission Youth is working in collaboration with the Tourism department for utilizing the available resources in the development of these villages as tourist villages. Government will also develop basic infrastructure in these villages under the close supervision of the Task Force which has already been constituted and any group willing to be part of the Government’s initiative will be given Rs 10 lakh as financial assistance for self employment activities in the tourism sector,” he said.
Further, an amount of Rs one lakh will be given for creation of home-stay facility and there will be a subsidy of Rs 50,000. This step will go a long way in attracting the tourists to those areas which remained unexplored till date, the spokesperson said.
Moreover, up to Rs 8-10 lakh incentive will be provided for movie/song shootings in these villages, also aimed at promotion of these rural tourist destinations. Preference will be given to local registered artists having sufficient experience in grant of assistance for shootings in the identified villages.
Similarly, a dedicated portal – AVSAR-‘Connect to Opportunities Initiative’- has been provisioned to facilitate our youth with real-time information flow notifying students about pre-placement activities and job opportunities. All ITIs and other technical institutions in the UT were on-boarded in the program for achieving the best outcomes for our youth.
The easily accessible online platform would act as an interface between trained and skilled workforce and will also deal with industry requirements in J&K. Under the New Industrial Scheme, special focus is given on training of local youth to fulfill the needs of a skilled workforce, the spokesperson said.
Another programme “Sahyta” has been rolled out to provide a special financial assistance for youth in distress. Financial assistance of one lakh is being provided under the scheme to youth in distress for setting up solo self-employment units.
Under a sector specific scheme for dental professionals, a customised financial support is being provided to dentists for setting up dental clinics. An amount of 8 lakh is provided as financial assistance under this scheme for setting up their venture.
Another scheme “Rise Together” envisions promoting community-based entrepreneurship optimally to generate jobs, income and promote the spirit of social service among new-age young entrepreneurs in J&K. Under the scheme, the eligible youth groups are provided with financial assistance to the extent of Rs 20 lakh comprising of upfront subsidy component minimum of Rs 2.5 lakh or 10 percent of the project cost and a loan provided by the bank to the extent of Rs 17.50 lakh.
With all these initiatives, the government has endeavoured to make the interest and empowerment of youth as top priority. The government envisions reaching out to all the young population of Jammu & Kashmir within the next five and making it possible for them to be actually a propelling force for socio-economic transformation of Jammu & Kashmir.
