The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh met the senior officers of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, here today. The officers are posted in various Central ministries of the Union Government in the National Capital.While interacting with the officers, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Government led by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi accords high priority to the peripheral states and it has taken various initiatives for the development of these regions. He further said that this meeting is also an initiative of the Prime Minister and the purpose of this meeting is to provide a platform to the officers of the same state and give them an opportunity to share their views and experiences to expedite the various development projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
He further said that this will help the officers in implementing the Central Government schemes in a much better manner for their state as they have the ground experiences of working there for a long time. Similarly, this initiative will motivate the J&K Government officials to work for the development of state in a more pro-active manner, he added.During the meeting, various issues were discussed such as Prime Minister’s scholarship scheme for students, connectivity issues including physical, broadband & aviation connectivity, intra-state and inter-state connectivity, setting up of India Institute of Management (IIM) in Jammu, renovation & upgradation of stadia, among others. The connectivity will help in boosting trade and commerce related activities in the state and thus create employment for people. The officers emphasized that there is a need to make more use of information technology in offices’ functioning in Jammu and Kashmir e.g. e-filing system in the offices. The officers also said that various initiatives of the Government have influenced the state in a great manner, demonetization being one of them.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the officers from J&K should sit together and discuss how best the Jammu & Kashmir Government can be benefitted from their experience of working in the Central Government. The Minister emphasized upon the synergy between the officers posted in Delhi and the officers posted in Jammu & Kashmir. Both should supplement each other’s efforts, he added. He further emphasized that more youth-centric initiatives are required in the state to channelize the energies of youth in a right direction. He stressed upon the job creation for them based on skill development training as per their requirement and specific region.The Minister said that the youth of J&K are very progressive and their potential should be explored. The Minister expressed happiness over the fact that many students from J&K are making to the IITs. Every year some students make it to toppers’ list of Civil Services Examination, he said. The Minister said that the construction of world’s largest railway bridge is on full swing over river Chenab. The Minister also highlighted various other initiatives taken by the Central Government such as self-attestation of documents and others.