G20: Empowering Kashmir Through Change

By: MOOL RAJ
Heaven on Earth’ as Kashmir is referred by many, has seen the world take shape, such is its history. Kashmir has witnessed its history being written by many rulers, religion and its population.
Present dispensation led by PM Modi  has been focussing on  empowering the population so that Kashmir could rise to its full potential and the population could exploit the resources and rights to their full access. Infrastructural development in Kashmir got a big push after the abolishment of ‘Article 370’ in August 2019. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha highlighted the fact in a meeting. A foundation of 25 National highways was laid by the Union Minister of transportation and highways, Nitin Gadkari in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir.
The government has proposed for satellite township. Light Rail Transit System (LRTS), railway lines and Zozila Pass tunnel in many of its aim in empowering the state. Dubai Plans to build infrastructure in Kashmir along with the Government of India. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana aims at construction of many roads, bridges and railway lines in the Jammu and Kashmir state as a whole. These frontal projects would not only fast-track the tourism of the region, but would provide employment and livelihood to the local population and provide a business exposure to the region for international countries and companies to invest in the region which would eventually help the region of Kashmir to grow strong economically and educationally. With the improvement of modes of transportation, construction of educational centers and tourism centers, the region is generating for itself the most important resources, i.e. the human resources.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading India’s representation at G 20 summits since 2014, India has been a great leader to other nations. And now in a major development, Jammu and Kashmir will be hosting the 2023 meeting of G-20. It will be the first international summit of Kashmir. This has accelerated the process of constructions in the region. According to an order by the principal secretary to the Government, the housing and urban development department are also nominated along with transport, hospitality and protocol, culture and tourism as UT level nodal officers to coordinate the arrangements for G-20 meeting in the Union Territory. The population composition of India is quite homogeneous as we see. (Male: 51.96% and Women: 48.04%). And for Jammu and Kashmir, the women population contributes to 47% of total.
For a region to prosper, the whole community needs to participate in equality. Hence, a special empowerment programme has been launched by the government for the Kashmir women. They have been given opportunities in decision making so that no section of society is left out. A well educated and informed woman plays an important role in foundation laying for a region’s development. Their thoughts, value system and ways of working lead to faster growth and development of society. With their empowerment, we will see a stable society. By empowering the Kashmir women, the government encourages them to access equal rights, opportunities and status in the economic, cultural, social and political domain of the society. Major focus has been laid down on their education, skill development and opportunities in all sectors of society.
The population of Jammu and Kashmir is chiefly a young population with more than half of them below 36 years of age. With the single aim of engaging the young population towards nation building and not elsewhere, the government of Jammu and Kashmir UT has enfolded out a pioneering enterprise-Mission Youth. Livelihood generation. Tejaswini-The Radient, Mumkin, Rise together, Young Innovators Program etc. Education. Parvaaz scheme, super 75 and Super B 75 scholarship scheme, etc. Recreational and social engagement. Youth clubs, tours, sports etc. Counselling and rehabilitation. Misc schemes. Term Loans, Virasat, Umeed, Hunnar, AASRA etc. With most of the resources unexploited and various opportunities provided to the population under various plans and schemes of the government, the landscape can very well change in a few years. You never know, in years to come, Kashmir may rise as the largest contributor to the national GDP because of its various sectors supported by the government.

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