Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today hosted a luncheon get-together for a group of over 55 students from Jammu & Kashmir.
Most of these students belonged to the age group of 14 to 19 years and a large number of them hailed from the terror-affected districts of Kashmir Valley. Nearly all of them were travelling outside the State of Jammu & Kashmir for the first time in their life.
The get-together today was a part of the periodic exercise undertaken by Dr Jitendra Singh, from time to time over the last three years, by holding such interactive meets with youth and students from J&K.
In an interaction lasting over one-and-a-half hour, Dr Jitendra Singh engaged himself in an informal conversation with the students and also responded to the individual queries made by each one of them.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the students from J&K are blessed with high levels of intelligence, talent and immense potential, which often remains under-utilized because of several local constraints. He said, the youth of J&K share the same aspirations as their peers and counterparts in other parts of the country and are keen to realize their dreams.
The youth from the terror-affected districts also, Dr Jitendra Singh said, have moved ahead and are no longer ready to be misled by others and thus compromise their own future.
With the gradual return of normalcy to the State, Dr Jitendra Singh hoped that the State of J&K will also be able to achieve a similar infrastructural development as in the the other States, so that the local youth can be provided with sufficient opportunities and avenues, without suffering from any disadvantage whatsoever.
With a large number of students from J&K making it to the merit list of IAS / Civil Services as well as IIT-JEE entrance exam in the last few years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, their capacity can be further enhanced by providing them opportunities of undergoing preparation and training like students in other parts of the country. In this regard, he recalled that last year, he had finalized an MoU between ISRO and the Department of Education, Government of J&K, which, he said, could be utilized to provide coaching through satellite for the aspirants of Civil Services Exam, IIT-JEE, NEET, etc. In addition, he said, the State Government and agencies can come together to provide training in special skills and special trades, in order to generate employability, without depending on a government job.
Dr Jitendra Singh called upon the J&K youth to accept the challenge of ensuring return of normalcy and peace to the State, so that it does not intimidate their future growth. He said, it is these third-generation post-independence youngsters who have the greatest stake in ensuring sustained peace and prosperity in J&K State.
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