Srinagar, Jun 28 (KNO): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Saturday launched the much-anticipated Mission YUVA (Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan) at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), a visionary initiative to foster entrepreneurship in J&K by creating 1.37 lakh enterprises and 4.25 lakh jobs in 5 years.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the programme as a transformative initiative aimed at empowering the youth of Jammu and Kashmir through entrepreneurship, financial support and opportunity-rich ecosystem development.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister affirmed his government’s commitment to fulfil the aspirations of the region’s youth.
“I promise the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, that I will try my best to take you to that height, where you will not only write a better destiny for yourself, but for Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The launch event was attended by Ministers Sakeena Itoo, Javed Rana and Satish Sharma; Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani; Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo; Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Dheeraj Gupta; Managing Director and CEO J&K Bank Amitabh Chatterjee; several MLAs; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Secretary Labour & Employment Kumar Rajiv Ranjan; Mission Director Mission Yuva Shehzad Alam; and a host of other dignitaries. The venue also saw an enthusiastic presence of young entrepreneurs from across Jammu and Kashmir.
Congratulating the people on the launch of Mission Yuva, the Chief Minister said that it’s not that previous governments didn’t attempt to address this issue; various schemes have been implemented in the past. “I will not stand here and claim that none of them worked. But every scheme can be improved, and each offers lessons to learn from. By engaging with you all, we can better understand how to strengthen such efforts,” he said.
Reflecting on past initiatives, he recalled that during his last tenure, his government also developed a scheme focused on youth entrepreneurship. “We worked diligently with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) and successfully created many entrepreneurs. Of course, not all of them succeeded, but whenever I visit different places, I often meet someone who tells me they started their business under our Sher-e-Kashmir Employment and Welfare Programme for Youth (SKEWPY) scheme—and that many others are now employed under them,” the CM recalled.
Speaking on the discontinuation of earlier schemes, he stated, “Unfortunately, the government that followed ours was more concerned with changing the name of the program than continuing its vision. Let me say clearly: the name Mission Yuva should not be a matter of contention. It should not represent any party, any leader—not my name, nor anyone else’s. It should belong to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The Chief Minister emphasized the grassroots foundation of the flagship programme, stating,
“This initiative is not the result of decisions made behind closed doors—it is built on extensive fieldwork, baseline survey, ample thought & time, and collective effort. The data compiled, as showcased in the publication released today, will provide a valuable basis for departments to shape their future policies and programmes. It will have far-reaching benefits across sectors like social welfare, youth development, education, and healthcare. ”As revealed that more than one crore people were surveyed in what can be called an exercise on the scale of a census. The findings indicate that Mission Yuva could potentially create over 1.5 lakh entrepreneurs and more than 4 lakh jobs, with over 30% participation from women.
Highlighting funding as a major hurdle for youth, the CM said, “Whenever we speak to aspiring entrepreneurs, the most common concern is lack of funding. Access to finance remains the biggest barrier. Under Mission Yuva, we are committed to removing this obstacle. Getting a loan from a bank typically requires a Detailed Project Report (DPR), which many young people don’t know how to prepare. That responsibility too has been taken up by this mission—through the use of Artificial Intelligence.”
He added that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will also be used to prepare bank-ready DPRs to eliminate delays and rejections in loan approvals.
“No matter how good your idea is, unless it reaches the market, your business will struggle. That’s why Mission Yuva is also focused on market linkage and ecosystem support.”
The Chief Minister praised the humility of the team that conceptualized the mission—(KNO)