Jammu- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be addressed through government jobs alone and expressed hope that the upcoming Union Budget would provide a substantial industrial package to boost economic growth in the Union Territory.
“Our expectation from the Union Budget is that Jammu and Kashmir receives a good industrial package. The region has not received any central industrial incentive package since 1990,” Omar told reporters after inaugurating the Startup Mela at the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI).
He said the government is working closely with the Centre to ensure that J&K gets an effective industrial incentives package to strengthen the industrial sector and generate employment.
The event saw the disbursement of seed funds to startups, release of capital grants to incubators, and felicitation of winners of an idea challenge.
Omar said creating a strong startup ecosystem was both a necessity and a responsibility, stressing that government recruitment alone cannot absorb the growing number of job seekers.
“Unlike some other states, I cannot simply tell our people to leave Jammu and Kashmir for jobs elsewhere,” he said, referring to recent incidents of harassment of Kashmiri shawl sellers in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
He said such incidents have pushed people to look inward for livelihood opportunities. “These developments show that our people are now increasingly hesitant to go outside the region for work,” he added.
On reviving sick industrial units, the chief minister said his government would support units that are capable of restarting operations.
“If they can restart, we will help them. If not, we will assist them in setting up a new business. And if that is also not possible, the land allotted to them will be taken back and given to others so that industrial activity is not stalled,” he said.
Speaking on entrepreneurship, Omar said failure should be treated as a learning experience rather than a setback, noting that many successful entrepreneurs have faced repeated failures before succeeding.
He also said entrepreneurship is not limited to manufacturing and cited service and technology-driven businesses as examples of how innovative models can create employment.
“The government alone cannot identify startups or provide fearless funding. Educational institutions and JKEDI must be empowered to play this role effectively. The seed capital support provided by EDI should be expanded so that it can function as intended,” he said.
Omar said the government is working to bring visible improvements in the next two to three years and added that efforts are underway to ensure that the single-window clearance system functions efficiently to reduce red tape and save time for entrepreneurs.
Asked about demands for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, the chief minister said Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar had already termed the incident an accident and cautioned against politicising the issue.
“I don’t think there is anything more to be said on this,” Omar said.
