She said the government is committed to creating an investor-friendly environment in the state and meeting the requirement of high-end venture firms in terms of skilled manpower and 'ease of doing business'.
"Our youth are tailor-made for entrepreneurship. There is a need though for an institutional linkup between CII, Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), colleges, and the universities to harness this talent," she said.
The Chief Minister made these observations during an interaction with a CII delegation, headed by Rumjhum Chatterjee, who is the first Chairperson of CII's Northern Regional Council, at the Civil Secretariat.
"The CII must focus on orientation courses in colleges and universities on a much larger scale to bolster levels of awareness in entrepreneurship," she stated.
More From This Section
She expressed hopes that CII would also focus on harnessing the talent of young female entrepreneurs.
"I think floriculture, in which the state has a huge potential, can become starting point for CII," she said, adding the government will partner with CII in its endeavour.
The Chief Minister was briefed by Chatterjee about J&K emerging as a possible destination for start-ups.
Chatterjee presented a copy of a proposal about easing bottlenecks so that business-friendly environment in the state is improved on 35 important parameters, where India lags as per a recently-published report of the World Bank.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Jammu, led by its President Rakesh Gupta, called on the Chief Minister this afternoon.
This was the first meeting the Chief Minister had with
the Prime minister after the violence broke out in the valley on July 8.
"Lately, when the situation was bad and Pakistan was fuelling the ongoing crisis in Kashmir, our Home Minister Rajnath Singhji went to Lahore, but again, unfortunately, Pakistan let go this golden opportunity and did not extend the courtesy that needs to be given to a guest," she said.
Observing that the basis of the PDP-BJP alliance was on the foundations of Vajpayee's Kashmir policy and to carry forward from where it had stopped, she recalled the words of her father and former Chief Minster Mufti Mohammed Sayeed who had said that if Kashmir can be resolved, it can only be by the Prime Minister who enjoys two-thirds majority.
The Chief Minister said she told the Prime Minister to
hold talks with all the stakeholders in the state and this could be possible through an institutionalised mechanism.
"Please appoint a group of individuals on whom people of Kashmir have trust, that whatever they are saying will reach to people at the helm of affairs in Delhi," she said.
She said a peaceful resolution, as discussed with the Prime Minister, will ensure that the people in the state will live their life with dignity and peace.
"Similarly, I will ask Pakistan if they have some concern for the people of Kashmir they should stop supporting the people who are instigating the youth in the Valley," she said.
She also advised Islamabad to take a leaf out if its former President Pervez Musharraf's Kashmir policy who had opined that the UN resolution on Kashmir had no space in the present world.
Asked about talks with Hurriyat, she said a dialogue should be held with all those who want talks. But "those who are instigating the people for carrying out attacks on camps and police stations are not interested in talks," she said.
So far 68 people have died in the protests that started from July 8 after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8.