The Centre today decided to extend by four years the Udaan Scheme, a Special Industry Initiative for Jammu & Kashmir which provides exposure to the state's youth to the country's corporate sector, till 2019-20.
The scheme was initially up to the 2015-16 fiscal, ending this month-end.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Udaan provides exposure to the youth of J&K to corporate India and corporate India to the talent pool available in the state, said an official release.
So far, 67 leading corporates have partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under UDAAN with a commitment to train youth from the state covering organized retail, banking, financial services, IT, ITES, infrastructure, hospitality etc.
More than 19,000 candidates have been selected, more than 15,000 have joined training, out of them, 8,700 candidates have completed training and 6,838 have been offered jobs.
"It is expected that the target of the scheme to train and enhance employability of 40,000 graduates, post graduates and three year engineering diploma holders, will be achieved by 2019-20," an official statement said.
To accelerate the pace of implementation, mega selection drives have been introduced, in which around 8-10 corporates participate. It has significantly improved the number of selections. 67 mega selection drives have been held so far covering all districts of the state.
Udaan is a national integration scheme with the goal to mainstream J&K youth with rest of the country. The scheme not only provides skill enhancement and job opportunity but also leads to counter radicalisation and weaning away youth of J&K from militancy.
