Jammu & Kashmir is gearing towards enchanting possibilities. Dive in to know more.

"When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

Paulo Coelho

I am a firm believer in this proverb. If you want something and are ready to do everything it takes to get that thing, even God begins to favour you.

This thing happened with the youth of the Jammu & Kashmir who had been eagerly waiting for opportunities to make it big in their lives.

Herein this article, I will share with you the change that a special industry drive has brought about in the valley and in the lives of the youth there.

Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) is a state with phenomenal beauty. The hills, the folklores, the locals, spend one week here and you will feel like you are in heaven.

But one thing that we often forget is the talent that still goes largely unnoticed by the Corporate India.

The youth of the state is incredibly talented; however, they often complain that they do not get enough of chances to prove their metal.

To overcome this challenge, the government of India along with National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) came up with a one-of-its-kind of ideal: "Udaan."

It is a special industry drive that has been intelligently laid out to help the corporates reach out to the youth of the state and help them become financially independent.

Udaan is a fine example of innovation and engagement and provides the corporate India a sea of talent that is J&K is all about.

Under this drive, the prospective corporates submit a proposal to NSDC that are evaluated and approved by the proposal approval committee. Interested graduates and post graduates register on the website of the NSDC Udaan. The partner corporates identify candidates and call them for their training programs. Upon the successful completion of the program, they are evaluated and considered for jobs.

And yes, the trainees get a stipend during the period they are getting training.

Udaan aims to up skill about 40000 youth in 5 years. This also means that 40,000 youth are likely to be economically independent in 5 years. If you dig a little deeper, you'll realize that the drive wouldn't just help 40000 youth; it would, in fact, help 40,000 families of Jammu & Kashmir. And this is likely to be achieved in just 5 years. Imagine the change this single drive is likely to bring about in this state.

Udaan does not (and, cannot) promise a complete transformation. What it can, however, do is bring a little hope to families that are struggling to survive for lack of resources.

I am seeing it as a welcome step. Many more such steps, however, would be needed if we are to transform lives of hundreds and thousands of graduate and post graduate youth of Jammu & Kashmir.

Udaan up-skills youth and thus, make them employable in high growth sectors. "Hunar Hai To Kadar Hai" is something that the government and NSDC firmly believe in and accordingly train the youth in different skills so they can take up jobs, become economically independent, and can support their families. For more on Udaan, please read our published articles.