Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India Alka Upadhyay today chaired an elaborate meeting to review progress and implementation of Himayat & Umeed schemes run by the Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, J&K.Secretary, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Sheetal Nanda, Mission Director, Umeed Abdul Rashid Var, Regional Head, DDUGKY, Murtaza Hussain Mir, Chief Operating Officer, Himayat, Kapil Sharma were also present in the meeting.Kapil Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, HMMU briefed the meeting about the progress and implementation of the Himayat scheme. It was given out that 32 projects have been sanctioned and presently as many as 5590 candidates are under training. Additionally, 2586 candidates have already completed training out of which 1177 candidates placed in various sectors under Himayat. Addl. Secretary said that employment space available in the country can be captured by the youth of J&K State through skill development training and honing of their energy in the development process in the State and the country.Secretary to Government, Sheetal Nanda said that the State Government is taking both these schemes seriously as it is directly linked with the youth of the State. She added that stringent instructions have been issued to PIA to complete the stipulated target. She also informed the meeting that Himayatcentres will be established in each and every district of the State.Pertinent to mention, Himayat is Skill Development-cum-Placement programme for unemployed youth targeted at school and college drop-outs.Later, the Additional Secretary, Alka Upadyay toured Himayat centres and expressed satisfaction about the training progress and other arrangements.