New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday described Jammu and Kashmir as the pride of every Indian, and said that it is time to leave behind the old challenges and take full benefit of new possibilities.
Addressing the Jammu and Kashmir Rozgar Mela through video conferencing, he also said that there is a need to work with a new approach and new thinking for fast-paced development.
“We are committed to taking benefits of development equally to all sections and citizens,” Modi said.
“Jammu and Kashmir is the pride of every Indian. Together we have to take Jammu and Kashmir to new heights,” he said. “This decade of the 21st century is the most important decade in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. Now is the time to leave the old challenges behind, and take full advantage of the new possibilities.”
Modi congratulated 3,000 young people who received appointment letters to work in the government in 20 different places in Jammu and Kashmir. These youngsters will get opportunities to serve in various departments like the PWD, health department, food and civil supplies department, animal husbandry, Jal Shakti, and education-culture, he added.
The prime minister further said that preparations are in full swing to hand out more than 700 appointment letters in other departments in the coming days.
Referring to a record increase in the number of tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir, the prime minister said the tourism sector in the state received a boost due to the infrastructural developments and increased connectivity.
“It is our endeavour that the benefits of government schemes reach every section of society without any discrimination,” the prime minister remarked.
He also informed that efforts are on to strengthen the health and education infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir with the opening of two new AIIMS, seven new medical colleges, two state cancer institutes and 15 nursing colleges.
He said efforts are underway to improve connectivity to Kashmir by trains.
The prime minister further said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir were coming forward in large numbers for the development of their state and their people.
“It is our youth who will write a new story of development in Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi said.
He said “30,000 people have been recruited for various government jobs since 2019 and nearly 20,000 of these posts have been filled in the last one-and-a-half years only.”
The prime minister said the entire team of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, especially Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and his team, must be credited for this commendable work.
“The mantra of ‘Yogyata Se Rozgar’ (employment with competence), which the team has followed, is instilling new confidence in the youth of the state,” Modi said.
Referring to several steps taken by the central government to promote employment and self-employment, he said employment fairs being organised in different parts of the country from October 22 will see more than 10 lakh appointment letters being awarded by the central government in the next few months.
As various states like Jammu and Kashmir are also associated with this campaign, this number is going to increase even more, he added.
“To increase employment in Jammu and Kashmir, we have also expanded the business environment here. Our new industrial policy and business reforms action plan has paved the way for ease of doing business. This has given a tremendous impetus to investment here,” the prime minister said.
With the increase in investment in Jammu and Kashmir, new employment opportunities are being created for the youth and the pace at which work is being done on development-related projects will change the entire economy here, Modi said.
He further said work was underway at a fast pace for train connectivity to Kashmir, while international flights from Srinagar to Sharjah have already started.
“Flights have started from Jammu and Kashmir even at night. Farmers here have also benefited a great deal from the increasing connectivity. It is now easier for apple farmers of Jammu and Kashmir to send their produce outside,” Modi said.
“The way the government is working on promoting transport through drones, fruit-producing farmers here are also going to get special help,” he said.
Modi said the way new employment and self-employment opportunities have opened up in the Union territory, no one could have imagined it a few years ago.
“It is our endeavour that the benefits of government schemes reach every section of the society without any discrimination. We are committed to take equal benefits of development to all sections, to all people.
“With this model of holistic development, along with government jobs, other employment options are also being prepared,” the prime minister said.
Speaking on how the people of Jammu and Kashmir have always emphasised and appreciated transparency, he urged the youth who are coming into government services to make it a priority.
The prime minister recalled, “Whenever I used to meet the people of Jammu and Kashmir earlier, I always felt their pain. It was the pain of corruption in the system.”
“People of Jammu and Kashmir hate corruption and are fed up with it,” he said, and praised LG Manoj Sinha and his team for working hard to end the menace of corruption.
“It is the responsibility of the youth who are now becoming a part of the state government to give new energy to the efforts of transparency and honest governance by becoming true companions of Manoj Sinha,” the prime minister said.
