Mohsina Malik
In 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A, the government of India promised development in the region of Jammu Kashmir, one among them was addressing the issue of employment. It was said that thousand of pending job vacancies will be filled in a transparent and fast-tracking manner.
Within a month of abrogation, Governor Satya Pal Malik announced 50,000 pending job vacancies to be fulfilled within three months and told the youth to enthusiastically participate in recruitment drives.
Mega recruitment of J&K Bank 2018 was an unbearable insult to thousand of jobless aspirants when more than one lakh aspirants from all over Jammu and Kashmir applied for these posts which were suddenly scrapped without assigning any reasons or fixing accountability for the lapses which led to it being scrapped.
Recruitment agencies have led to recruitment processes getting entangled all these years, thereby adding more problems for those appearing for these recruitment exams.
Since India’s unemployment rate is highest than other countries, more alarming is in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2019, the unemployment rate in the state stood at 15.89, making it more worst.
In 2019, the Directorate of Employment asked the unemployed youth with basic post-graduation degrees, MPhil or Ph.D., to register themselves with the district employee exchanges in their respective districts.
According to a survey, the total number of unemployed PG scholars stood at an alarming figure of around 3 lakh, and the unemployment rates among graduate, technical degree holders, postgraduates, was even higher. Despite tall promises by the administration, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir was not provided any job.
From the last two years, these job promises have fallen flat and J&K’s unemployment graph is soaring.
According to official data measuring unemployment in India, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) stated that the unemployment in Jammu Kashmir was at 16.3 per cent in July 2019 and has grown to 21.9 in January 2021.
Last year in October, Dr Farooq Abdullah said the continuous double lockdowns have pushed the business to the walls and there is a decline in employment rates in JK. The development will be there only, when the decision made in August 2019 will be reversed, he added.
In 2021, once again there is a downfall in the employment rates in J&K according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and the region stood at 21.9, which’s alarming and is pertinently the Highest unemployment rate in India among all states and Union Territories.