Jammu, Mar 07 (KNO): The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday said it made a significant progress in skill development and employment generation under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0 and the PM Vishwakarma Scheme, benefiting thousands of youth, women, and artisans across the Union Territory.
In a written reply to a query raised by MLA Irshad Rasool Kar, the government, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), states that under PMKVY 4.0, a flagship skill development initiative aimed at enhancing employability, a total of 14,466 beneficiaries were trained and certified through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) Centres in the financial year 2023-24.
Around 8,775 (60%) were women, 4% belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, 4% were from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and 1.3% were from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
Similarly, in the ongoing financial year 2024-25, the government has already trained 60,768 beneficiaries under PMKVY 4.0, marking a significant increase in participation, of which, 42,721 (70%) women beneficiaries, 2.7% SC, 2.2% OBC, and 1.3% ST were benefited.
Under PM Vishwakarma Scheme — boost for traditional artisans and craftsmen, launched in September 2023 for a period of five years, the government said, that since its launch, a total of 1,18,296 artisans and craftsmen across 20 trades have received skill training in Jammu & Kashmir.
The MSME Ministry also distributed 14,691 toolkits to eligible beneficiaries, enabling them to improve the quality of their products and enhance market competitiveness.
Additionally, 11,932 loans have been sanctioned under the scheme to help artisans establish or expand their business units, ensuring their financial stability and long-term growth—(KNO)