*Reviews BISAG-N powered IT initiatives
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 25: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today held an extensive meeting with Union Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), S.C.L. Das, to deliberate on the prevailing industrial scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and explore long-term strategies for promotion and sustainability of the MSME sector across the Union Territory.
The meeting was also attended by Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce, Vikramjit Singh, and Secretary, Labour & Employment, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan. During the interaction, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need for a robust and inclusive roadmap to ensure the long-term sustainability of both existing and newly established industrial units across the UT.
Highlighting the immense potential of the MSME sector as a vehicle for employment and economic empowerment, Dulloo urged the Ministry to extend necessary technical and financial support to foster a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the UT.
He further sought the Ministry’s intervention in initiating targeted programmes to nurture a culture of entrepreneurship among the youth, who, he said, have remained deprived of such opportunities due to the past circumstances. He called for enhanced handholding support in skilling the local workforce in tune with emerging, technology-driven industries to enable them to secure gainful employment.
The Chief Secretary also emphasized the need for establishing comprehensive platforms that can facilitate better market access, credit linkage, and business mentorship for aspiring entrepreneurs. He suggested exploring avenues for expanding digital infrastructure and support systems to aid MSME growth in both rural and urban pockets of the UT.
The Union Secretary appreciated the UT administration’s renewed focus on industrial development and assured full support of the Ministry in strengthening the MSME ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary, chaired a high-level meeting to review the progress on ongoing Information Technology (IT) initiatives undertaken across J&K to enhance the governance and citizen-centric services.
The meeting besides Special DG, BISAG-N, Vinay Thakur was attended by Secretary, IT Department and concerned Administrative Secretaries; DG, Planning; SIO, NIC and other senior officers. The Chief Secretary took detailed appraisal of the digital interventions being implemented to promote ease of living for the people.
Emphasizing the need to make IT platforms more impactful, he called for significant improvements in the design and functionality of dashboards related to various Government schemes.
Regarding the Kisan Khidmat Ghar Dashboard, the Chief Secretary directed that it should reflect real-time data on the functioning of Krishi Udhyamis and describe the support mechanisms to be made available to them for improved efficiency and productivity.
He also reviewed the upgradation roadmap of the YUVA App, calling for deeper insights into application usage patterns, application submission tracking, DPR generation and integration with the MSME Health Clinic and ONDC platforms for enhanced user experience and benefit.
Importantly, he stressed the linking the app with the UDISE and APAAR databases of the School Education Department to monitor student skill development and career outcomes, thus enabling a seamless track of their educational and vocational journeys.
The meeting also discussed initiatives such as development of AI-based learning tools, introduction of educational TV channels and exposure of students to AI modules like AI-101 and AI-201 from an early stage to foster technological competence.
Special DG, BISAG-N, Vinay Thakur, shared the progress on ongoing projects being developed in collaboration with the UT Government. He assured continued support from BISAG-N in building robust, scalable and citizen-centric IT solutions. He also provided technical insights and affirmed BISAG-N’s commitment to timely execution of tasks in consultation with the respective departments.
Earlier, Secretary IT, Dr. Piyush Singla, gave a comprehensive overview on key milestones achieved, current developments and future plans under the Digital J&K framework.
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