More than 1.6 lakh youths were employed in the last six years with the establishment of 20,772 units by the Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
"In the previous six years, KVIB has been successful in establishing 20,772 units under the PM Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) generating employment for 1,66,172 people," an official spokesman said.
He said the information was given at the 106th board meeting of the KVIB, chaired by J&K Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta here.
The meeting was informed that the board has achieved its target by more than fivefold thereby achieving first rank in the country in the implementation of this programme, the official said.
Under the J-K Rural Employment Generation Programme (JKREGP), he said the board has established over 3,000 units from 2018-2022 thereby generating employment for nearly 18,000 people.
Addressing the meeting, the chief secretary advised the board to look into hand-holding of youth in the establishment of leather processing units, for which the raw material is available locally.
Mehta asked the KVIB to identify certain products, give them a brand name and promote them in the market. He also asked the board to take innovative measures in value addition and the creation of market linkages.