J&K Bank disburses loans to over 3,100 youth under Mission YUVA

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 2: J&K Bank has disbursed loans to more than 3,100 aspiring entrepreneurs as part of the 'Big Week Campaign' under Mission YUVA, aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and employment among the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.

The closing ceremony of the campaign was held at the Bank's Corporate Headquarters and was co-presided over by J&K Bank MD and CEO Amitava Chatterjee and Secretary, Labour & Employment and Revenue Department, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan in the presence of Director Employment and Mission Director, Mission YUVA, Harvinder Singh.

The event was also attended by Chief General Manager Ashutosh Sareen, General Managers Sanjay Gupta and Suresh Kumar Chowdhary; Deputy General Managers Rosy Tikoo, Shamim Ahmad and Abdul Majid besides other senior officers.

Bank's divisional heads, zonal heads and cluster heads participated virtually.

Kumar Rajeev Ranjan appreciated the role of J&K Bank in implementing Mission YUVA and said the Bank had been an important partner of the Government since the programme was conceptualized.

He said each loan disbursed under the mission represented an opportunity for a young person to build a livelihood through entrepreneurship.

He said Mission YUVA had received attention from various stakeholders as entrepreneurship and self-employment could play an important role in addressing unemployment.

J&K Bank MD and CEO Amitava Chatterjee said close coordination between the Government and the Bank had been a key factor behind the success of Mission YUVA.

He said the focus should not remain limited to setting up enterprises, but also on ensuring their sustainability and expansion.

Chatterjee said the Bank's field and operational teams should continue to guide and support young entrepreneurs and facilitate further financing wherever required so that the enterprises could grow and contribute to the economy of J&K.

Harvinder Singh said Mission YUVA had recorded disbursements of around Rs 1,750 crore in just over a year.

He congratulated the J&K Bank team for completing more than 3,100 disbursements during the Big Week Campaign.

Earlier, General Manager (RAM) Sanjay Gupta said Mission YUVA was being pursued by the Bank with the objective of promoting entrepreneurship and generating employment opportunities for the youth.

He said around 36,000 cases had been sanctioned under the programme so far, while nearly 32,000 young entrepreneurs had already received loan disbursements.