Waris Fayaz
Srinagar, Mar 20 :
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday said that the current unemployment rate in the Union Territory stands at 6.1% for individuals aged 15 years and above in 2023-24, as per the MoSPI.
Responding to a query by MLA Tanvir Sadiq, the government, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), also informed that 3,70,811 unemployed youth have voluntarily registered on the employment portal by the end of January 2025.
The concerned minister said that the government has implemented several self-employment schemes under initiatives like Mumkin, Tejaswani, Mission Youth, PMEGP, and REGP.
He said that these schemes have facilitated the generation of approximately 9.58 lakh self-employment opportunities since 2021. In the current fiscal year (2024-25), 1.36 lakh opportunities have been created.
“Additionally, under the MG NREGA program, the government has generated 3.01 crore person-days of employment, benefiting 8.07 lakh households.”
He added that to further encourage entrepreneurship and skill development, the government has launched Mission YUVA — this ambitious initiative aims to establish 1.35 lakh entrepreneurship units and create employment for 4.5 lakh youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The department continues to promote skill development through specialised training programs designed to enhance self-employment capacities. Regular job fairs are also conducted to bridge the gap between job seekers and employers, encouraging private sector employment,“ he said.