With little response from the private sector, the Centre has asked India’s top public sector undertakings (PSUs) and banks to step into the breach, and train and subsequently offer jobs to youths from Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times, a senior government official said the initiative is aimed at integrating the youth of the troubled state with the rest of the country and providing them with employment outside the state.
"Kashmir is an integral part of India and we want to send this message across by helping all educated youth in this state that has been facing militancy and political turbulence for a very long time," the official said.
Home minister P Chidambaram last week called a meeting with the heads of leading PSUs including the State Bank of India, HAL, ONGC, SAIL, BHEL, NTPC and Indian Oil to sensitise them about the need to employ about 40,000 J&K youths in the next five years.
“The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the nodal agency that will facilitate the training,” a senior ONGC official said. About 8,000 young men and women will be trained every year for the next five years.
{{/usCountry}}“The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the nodal agency that will facilitate the training,” a senior ONGC official said. About 8,000 young men and women will be trained every year for the next five years.
{{/usCountry}}“No quota or reservation is being made for this category of youth. After the training, they will however have much better chances to get selected in a PSU during interview process,” a senior executive from SAIL said.
“There will be a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh to train every youth for a duration of nine months and the centre will reimburse 50% of this cost,” said a senior official from BHEL.