Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 7: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA Pulwama Waheed Ur Rehman Para has raised questions over the implementation of the Rs 2700 crore YUVA scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the initiative has failed to produce the desired results on the ground.
The programme had aimed to create around 1, 37, 000 entrepreneurship opportunities across the Union Territory, but Para alleged that not a single genuinely new enterprise appears to have emerged under the scheme and that existing startups may have been counted to inflate the figures.
Para also questioned why the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), considered one of the key institutions for promoting entrepreneurship in the region, was not entrusted with implementing the programme.
He said that instead of building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, the scheme appears to have largely been reduced to distributing short-term loans.
The MLA Pulwama further raised concerns about the survey conducted for the scheme, claiming it was carried out by employees under the supervision of the Labour Department merely as a formality, which raises doubts about the credibility of the data.
The PDP leader also questioned the decision to appoint Indian Institute of Management (IIM) as the nodal agency for the programme despite the presence of EDI in the Union Territory.
According to him, institutions like EDI have a proven track record in entrepreneurship development and could have been better suited to handle such initiatives.
Para said that if the aim of the YUVA scheme is to genuinely promote entrepreneurship and tackle unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, the Government must ensure transparency in its implementation and consider restoring responsibility for startup programmes to EDI.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
