Says committed to empower youth

Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday said that his mantra for J&K revolves around 4 P’s comprising peace, progress, prosperity and people first.
Announcing the sanctioning of over 10,000 cases under B2V3 Self Employment Programme, Economic Package and My Town-My Pride at a presser here, he said the move highlighted the government’s commitment to empower the youth which is one of the foremost priorities.
A total of 15309 applications were received, out of which 10828 have been sanctioned and an amount of Rs 100 crore has been disbursed to 6734 applicants, identified under B2V3.
“We had taken up a target of covering at least 2 persons in each Panchayat who were in need of financial assistance for self-employment,” he added.
“I am happy to announce that we have covered nearly 10,000 cases and in order to mark the occasion, one person from each district of J&K is being handed over a sanction letter here” said the Lt Governor adding that the government is committed to cover every single aspirant within J&K, who wishes to set up his own business.
“What distinguishes the effort this time is the fact that unlike in past, where borrowers had to make several rounds of the bank to get a simple loan, the banks have been more than forthcoming towards helping the people,” he said.
The officers went to the villages under B2V3 and My Town My Pride, and identified the aspirants.
The officers from the bank also attended these events and in a departure from the normal culture of red-tapism, we have been able to sanction these cases within a short period of time, which is reflective of our resolve to help the young generation in achieving their aspirations, he continued.
Sinha called upon the J&K Bank to not only extend financial assistance to these entrepreneurs but also provide handholding to them so that the youth who opt for self-employment can set up sustainable businesses and flourish in their lives.
Sinha also handed over a cheque of Rs 250 crore to J&K Bank as commencement of disbursement of 5% Interest Subvention and coverage of restructured accounts of 2014 and 2016. He also termed it as a very important milestone.
“This is only the beginning and as and when requests are received for further disbursement, we will continue to meet these requests in a timely manner,” he added.
Providing a much needed relief to the business community, the Lt Governor also announced that from January 1, GST shall be reimbursed timely and automatically without delays.
Reiterating the government’s commitment for taking comprehensive measures for the revival of the business sector, the Lt Governor observed that the committee had been constituted under the Chairmanship of KK Sharma, Advisor to the Lt Governor to suggest measures for improving competitiveness of local industry post abrogation of toll tax at Lakhanpur.
‘The committee was supposed to give its report within a month of the announcement of the economic package. I am happy to announce that the committee has given its report within the scheduled time and the Government will soon commence the implementation of recommendations,” Sinha said.
These recommendations contain 20 key steps that will not only enable the industry to become competitive but also flourish in times to come and become competitive not only in this region but also at the national level, he said.
“I had also said that the implementation of the package shall be personally monitored by me. I am happy to announce that nearly 50% of the recommendations have already been implemented,” he added referring to the economic package.
Strengthening the grass roots democratic set up, 3-tier Panchayati Raj is being implemented for the first time in J&K, thereby giving further fillip to the developmental agenda centered around people’s welfare, he added.
“My Government is committed to peace and progress in J&K. As you have seen, we had announced the economic package about a month ago and we have been able to make progress on nearly 50% of the measures under the economic package. We mean what we say”, said the Lt Governor.
For empowerment of youth of J&K, the government is coming up with YES J&K- a Youth Empowerment programme for Youth Engagement and Employment. The intended programme will be an institutional mechanism for providing the necessary handholding and support to the youth to facilitate and nurture their capabilities, he added.

KR Desk