Parliament Question: Employment generation in J&K

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2328 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026 EMPLOYMENT GENERATION IN J&K 2328. SHRI SAT PAUL SHARMA: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a) the latest estimates regarding youth employment indicators in Jammu and Kashmir, district-wise ; (b) the number of employment opportunities generated in the Union Territory under various schemes during the last five years; (c) the status of ongoing and planned recruitment processes across departments and agencies; and (d) the measures being undertaken to further strengthen employment generation, skill development and livelihood opportunities for educated youth, particularly in border and hilly districts? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (d): The data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted, by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. As per the latest Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status for youth (15-29 years) in the State of Jammu & Kashmir has decreased from 18.3% in 2019-20 to 17.4% in 2023-24. Further, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment on usual status for youth (15-29 years) in the State of Jammu & Kashmir has increased from 34.7% in 2019-20 to 40.2% in 2023-24. As per information received from Labour & Employment Department, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, the Government is committed to promoting entrepreneurship, facilitating self-employment opportunities and ensuring transparent recruitment to public services so as to address the challenge of unemployment among the youth ofJammu and Kashmir. Government of Jammu & Kashmir is implementing a range of self-employment and entrepreneurship promotion schemes which inter-alia, includes Jammu & Kashmir Self Employment Schemes (JKSES) that aimed at providing financial assistance including bank credit and subsidy to unemployed youth for establishing income generating units. Besides, employment opportunities have been created under several schemes including Mission Youth initiatives (Mumkin, Tejaswini, Parvaaz, Spurring Entrepreneurship Initiative and Tourist Village Development Programme), etc. The Department of Labour & Employment, Government of Jammu and Kashmir has also launched the flagship initiative “Mission YUVA”, which seeks to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment among youth with a target of creating approximately 4.25 lakh employment opportunities over the next five years by supporting start-ups, small enterprises and innovative livelihood ventures. Since its launch within a span of 8 months, 900 crores has been disbursed among beneficiaries for creating employment opportunities through self-employment/ entrepreneurship. Employment generation coupled with improving employability (including for youth of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir) is also a priority of the Government of India. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country. The details of various employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes. Further, Government of India is also implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India (including for youth of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir) to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills.The Ministry of Tourism undertakes a range of promotional activities to promote tourism both internationally and domestically, including Jammu & Kashmir. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, a total of six projects were sanctioned in Jammu & Kashmir during 2016– 17 under the Himalayan Circuit, with an approved cost of ₹519.58 crore. All these projects are physically completed. The Ministry has further revamped the scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0, shifting the focus from circuit-based development to the development of sustainable tourism destinations. These initiatives have led to an increase in tourist footfall and local employment. Government is implementing Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, is also running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in]. *****