Has the central government policies failed in Kashmir?

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Jammu & Kashmir is once again simmering with violence. About 34 people have been killed in the past four days, but the state is not new to such incidents. Sporadic violence is now routine and many in the Union government believe that the only way to keep the protesters, mainly youth, from violence is through employment and economic packages. But it seems attempts are not yielding the desired results.

In November 2004, the Union government had announced a reconstruction plan for J&K involving an outlay of Rs 24,000 crore for generating employment and expanding economic infrastructure. Till date the Centre only provided Rs 7,814 crore and has completed 36 projects of 67. A central scheme called Udaan, which was started in 2012-13 to train and provide jobs to around 40,000 Kashmiris, has been able to help only 8,000.

Currently, J&K is one of the states that has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Again in November 2015, the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a package of Rs 80,000 crore, of which the state government is expected to get Rs 6,000 crore in the current financial year. Sahil Makkar looks at the state's current financial and social health indicators to understand J&K through some of its key socio-economic numbers: