Srinagar: Chief Secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the progress under various employment-generating schemes in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the officials to redouble efforts to create one lakh self-employment opportunities.
Asserting that self-help groups have huge potential in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Mehta directed the JKRLM to target the establishment of 11,000 self help groups (SHGs) in the current fiscal by ensuring social mobilization of approximately 2.50 lakh rural women, an official press release informed.
JKRLM was also asked to introduce institutional innovations and train the SHGs in the production of products suited to modern-day requirements, besides establishing fruitful forward linkages with the e-markets.
He also urged the department to target the appointment of 2000 ‘Bank Sakhis’ in J&K by ramping up bank linkages to SHGs.
Administrative Secretaries of departments of Housing & Urban Development, Labour & Employment, Industries & Commerce, Social Welfare, besides Mission Director, J&K Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) along with concerned officers participated in the meeting.
It was informed that J&K Rural Livelihood Mission has formed 1,000 SHGs and will facilitate constitution of another 3,000 by September-end.
The Chief Secretary advised the Housing & Urban Department to explore convergence with other schemes under implementation in urban sector in J&K for increasing the acceptance of the NULM in the urban setting.
Highlighting that the targets under direct financing scheme for SC/ST/OBC are extremely low, the Chief Secretary urged the concerned to lay special focus on providing gainful employment to more underprivileged and marginalized in the society.
The Industries and Commerce Department informed that as against the target of 2352 cases under PMEGP, 7613 cases have been sanctioned as on date by the banks and in 5775 cases, financial assistance has also been disbursed to the beneficiaries.
The Chief Secretary emphasized greater coordination between departments and banks for expeditious sanction and disbursement of loans under various schemes so that the target of creating one lakh self employment opportunities for youth is achieved at the end of the present financial year.
