The issue of unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir has reached alarming proportions. With over 3.7 lakh educated youth, including postgraduates and professionals, registered on the official employment portal of the UT, it is clear that joblessness has become a ticking time bomb. The figures paint a grim picture—over 32,000 posts continue to lie vacant in 37 government departments, and yet there is no clear roadmap or timeline for filling these critical vacancies.
For the youth of J&K, especially those from economically weaker sections and remote areas, government jobs remain the primary hope for stability and dignity. However, the long delays in recruitment processes, frequent legal tangles, and policy indecision have only added to their frustration. This growing discontentment, if not addressed in time, could have serious socio-economic consequences.
In this backdrop, the UT administration’s decision to organize a day-long ‘Udyamita Mela’ across all 20 districts on Saturday is a welcome step. The initiative, being held in collaboration with District Employment & Counselling Centres, aims to promote self-employment among youth and connect them with schemes like Mission Youth, Mumkin, and Tejaswini. Experts from various sectors are also providing guidance during the mela, helping youth explore alternatives beyond conventional jobs.
While such events can certainly create awareness and inspire entrepreneurship, they cannot be seen as a substitute for regular employment, especially in a region like J&K where private sector absorption is still limited. Entrepreneurship, though essential, cannot cater to the aspirations of every unemployed youth. A parallel and focused strategy is needed to expedite public sector recruitments and attract investment in key sectors such as IT, tourism, agriculture, and handicrafts.
The youth of Jammu and Kashmir are not lacking in talent or willingness to work. What they need is a fair chance and a serious, time-bound commitment from the government to address the unemployment crisis on war footing.
In the last few years, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a series of recruitment scams that have severely eroded public trust in the system and demoralized the educated youth who aspire for government jobs. These scams, involving irregularities in the selection process for prestigious posts, highlight the deep-rooted issues in the recruitment agencies and call for urgent reforms. Restoring credibility in the hiring process will be a major challenge for the government, which must now ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability through independent probes, strict action against culprits, and the establishment of a robust mechanism to prevent such malpractices in the future.
It is high time the J&K Government treats unemployment not as a routine statistic but as an emergency issue. The vacant posts must be filled without further delay, and a clear employment policy must be framed to restore hope among the region’s restless youth. The time for symbolic steps is over—concrete action is the need of the hour.
