Pulwama: A total of 4,741 applications have been approved under Mission YUVA in Pulwama district, while banks have disbursed 2,826 loans, officials said during a review meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Kuldeep Krishan Sidha on Monday.
The meeting of the District Level Implementation Committee (DLIC), held at the Administrative Complex, Pulwama, reviewed the scheme’s implementation, loan disbursements and applications awaiting approval.
Of the approved applications, 1,839 pertain to the services sector, 1,517 to trading, 921 to manufacturing and 464 to agri-allied activities. The committee also reviewed 515 applications pending approval at the DLIC level.
Reviewing the progress, the Deputy Commissioner directed that DLIC meetings be held every 15 days to ensure timely disposal of applications. He also asked banks to submit action-taken reports within 15 days of each meeting, detailing the status of pending cases and steps taken to resolve them.
Sidha stressed the need to establish clear timelines covering the entire process, from application submission and verification to approval, loan sanction, disbursement and commencement of business operations.
Emphasising inclusive entrepreneurship, he called for greater participation of women, transgender persons and persons with disabilities in the scheme through targeted outreach and facilitation.
The DC said the focus should extend beyond enterprise creation to generating sustainable livelihood opportunities. He identified saffron, dairy and other locally viable sectors as areas with potential for employment generation.
He also called for exploring milk collection centres and strengthening supporting infrastructure to improve market access for dairy farmers and promote dairy-based enterprises.
The meeting was further directed to undertake a comprehensive strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and skill mapping exercise to identify local economic potential, market opportunities and skill gaps. Training programmes should be aligned with sectoral requirements, followed by financial assistance and continued institutional support to beneficiaries, he said.
The DC also stressed identifying enterprises based on local demand to prevent market saturation and avoid creating competition that could undermine existing businesses.
Calling for convergence among government schemes, he directed officials to coordinate Mission YUVA with the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and other livelihood initiatives.
He also called for promoting traditional arts, crafts and handicrafts through skill upgradation, product development, marketing support and improved market linkages.
The Assistant Director Employment, Pulwama, presented details of applications received, verified and approved, loans sanctioned and disbursed, bank-wise pendency and sector-wise distribution of proposed enterprises.
