Skill devpt project for J&K extended till Dec 31 next yr: Govt

An ongoing special skill development project for Jammu and Kashmir has been extended till December 31, 2018, the government said today.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for extension of time period of the "Special Industry Initiative for J&K" - Udaan till December 31, next year without any modification and cost escalation, an official statement said.
Initially the time period of Udaan was upto 2016-17.
Udaan provides exposure to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir to the best of corporate India and corporate India to the rich talent pool available in the state.

So far, 109 leading corporates have partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under UDAAN with a commitment to train youth from the state covering organised retail, banking, financial services, IT, ITES, infrastructure, hospitality etc, the statement said.
So far, 34,587 candidates have been selected of whom 31,903 candidates have joined, 22,237 candidates have completed the training, 7,649 are undergoing training and 14,694 have been offered jobs.

In spite of four months of unrest, following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July 2016, the scheme has gained a good momentum and pace of implementation has been the best during 2016-17 since its inception.

More than 12,000 candidates had joined training and nearly 10,000 candidates were offered jobs. 140 mega selection drives were held so far covering all districts of the state, it said.
Udaan is a national integration scheme with the goal to mainstream youths of Jammu and Kashmir with rest of the country.
The scheme not only provides skill enhancement and job opportunity but also connects these bright youths from Jammu and Kashmir with the vibrant corporate sector of India, it said.