JNM journalist Hardeep Jamwal, Jammu
Amidst rising unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, the government’s announcement to fill 23,000 government positions in the 2026-27 budget is being considered a positive initiative. However, this number is extremely limited compared to the more than 600,000 unemployed youth in the state. Consequently, it is natural to question whether such recruitments will be able to address the employment crisis.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the Assembly that 7,650 youth have been given government jobs so far during the year 2025. There are plans to fill 23,800 positions on a fast-track basis in the financial year 2026-27. These positions include 2,800 gazetted, 14,000 non-gazetted, and 7,000 Class IV positions. Additionally, 910 appointments have been made on humanitarian grounds in 2025.
Given the limited availability of government jobs, the government has made self-employment and entrepreneurship a key pillar of its employment policy. The “Mission Yuva” scheme launched under this initiative is being offered as an alternative opportunity for youth.
According to the government, over 70,000 applications have been received so far under Mission Yuva. Of these, 47,000 applications have been approved by district-level implementation committees. Banks have approved 16,500 enterprises, and approximately ₹800 crore has been disbursed. Another 20,000 applications are currently in various stages of processing.
Government data shows that the Mission Yuva app has been downloaded nearly 200,000 times so far, and applications have been received from approximately 95 percent of the panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir.
For the effective implementation of the scheme, 20 Small Business Development Units at the district level, 80 Business Helpline Desks at the sub-divisional level, and approximately 2,000 youth ambassadors are actively working at the grassroots level.
Special attention is also being paid to capacity building. More than 8,000 entrepreneurs have completed structured training so far, while approximately 5,000 others are receiving training under entrepreneurship development programs. To ensure transparency, the application process and fund disbursement are monitored through an end-to-end digital dashboard.
While youth and experts agree that self-employment schemes are important, not every young person can become an entrepreneur. Therefore, it is essential to increase permanent job opportunities in the government and private sectors. The announcement of 23,000 jobs is certainly a good start, but to meet the expectations of 600,000 unemployed youth, a more concrete and comprehensive employment policy is needed.
