Rajouri, Jan 27: With an aim to nurture an entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking among youth, Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) on Friday organized a day-long entrepreneurship awareness programme (EAP) in coordination with Himalayan Degree College at Rajouri.
Director JKEDI Ajaz Ahmad Bhat attended the event as the chief guest. He is on a tour of the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch. In his address, he commended the initiative of Himalayan Degree College, Rajouri in imbibing a spirit of leadership, saying this spirit acts as a guiding philosophy for the holistic development of students.
The director discussed his experience of the overall entrepreneurial scene in J&K. With a special emphasis on his tenure in the Industries and Commerce Department and Horticulture Department, he spoke about the learning he gained from his service career. He elucidated how the various policies of the UT Government have encouraged the spirit of entrepreneurship.
“The need of the hour is to generate consciousness among parents to foster entrepreneurship culture in children,” he said. The Director enumerated the benefits of the term loan scheme under the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) and how this initiative of the government is generating self-employment amongst minority communities.
“There is no dearth of innovation and initiative among the youth of J&K. They should set up entrepreneurial ventures rather than wait for government jobs. A focus should be placed on the creation of enterprises that make use of locally available raw materials. Unemployment is a serious challenge for all of us and only entrepreneurship is the way forward,” he added.
The gathering was also informed that the government is revising the guidelines of the J&K Startup Policy in order to make it more startup-friendly. “This will boost the startup ecosystem of the UT and will help the innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs in J&K. We need a robust startup ecosystem in the UT. We have to nurture the innovation and passion of our youth in a positive direction. The government is committed to this goal,” Ajaz said.
The Director further said that the institute is in the process of starting short-term courses in entrepreneurship for school and college students. The aim behind starting such courses is to enable young minds to develop an entrepreneurial mindset at an early stage and equip them to counter the challenges of building a new venture. “In the coming days, the institute is releasing a compendium of various entrepreneurship and self-employment-related schemes. This will be a great help for the youth of the UT and will enable them to make informed career choices,” he informed.
The Director thanked the Himalayan Education Mission Society for their cooperation and support to make this event successful. He directed all the District Nodal Officers of the Institute to provide free counselling in their office and display telephone numbers so that people can reach out and start a profitable venture. In addition to this, two model counselling control rooms have been established at the regional campuses of Pampore and Jammu.
Dr. Mehraj Ud Din Bhat and Vishal Ray, senior faculty members of JKEDI, gave an overview of how to start a new business. They also gave a presentation highlighting the prerequisites to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and students attended the event. Mohammad Muslim Wani, Chairman, Himalayan Degree College, Rajouri, Arif Ahmad Khan, Communications Officer, JKEDI, Sheikh Nowsheen, District Nodal Officer, JKEDI Rajouri, Adil Rasool, Manager Estates, JKEDI and Showkat Ahmad, Social Worker, were also present on the occasion.
