J&K gears up for year-long mega youth engagement programme

Jammu, Dec 22: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, Monday launched a dedicated portal for the implementation of a mega youth engagement programme across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The launch took place in the presence of several Administrative Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners and senior officers.
The programme will be steered by the Planning, Development & Monitoring Department (PD&MD) in coordination with multiple line departments to ensure large-scale, structured and meaningful engagement of youth across J&K.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Secretary emphasized the need for comprehensive, well-planned and youth-centric activities to channelize the energy, creativity and talent of young people in a productive direction.
He impressed upon departments such as Youth Services & Sports, Culture, Skill Development, School Education, Higher Education and DIPR to design a wide range of activities with clearly defined timelines, focus areas and identifiable target groups.
The Chief Secretary underlined that the programme calendar should clearly reflect village-wise and block-wise schedules, with specific dates earmarked for each activity. He stressed that all initiatives must be aligned to the interests and aspirations of the youth, ensuring inclusivity and maximum outreach.
He further directed the concerned departments and Deputy Commissioners to conceptualize district-specific programmes, extending down to the Panchayat level, so that youth from even the remotest areas get an opportunity to participate. Emphasizing the importance of ownership and participation, he said the events should provide a ready platform for young people to showcase their talent, sharpen their skills and pursue their interests.
Highlighting the diversity of engagement envisioned under the programme, the Chief Secretary called for inclusion of activities spanning sports, education, skill development, art and craft, folk traditions, culture and other creative and constructive youth-centric domains.
The Chief Secretary also stressed the need to make the newly launched portal more dynamic and interactive by integrating it with the ‘My Bharat’ portal. He advised that photographs and videos of completed events be uploaded regularly to generate wider interest and participation, along with details of attendance, beneficiaries and outcomes.
Earlier, Additional Chief Secretary, Planning, Ashish ChanderVerma, while highlighting the progress made so far, informed that Steering Committee meetings are being held regularly to provide direction and momentum to the programme. He expressed confidence that the initiative would successfully engage a large segment of youth across the UT through one or more activities.
He further informed that the portal would become more illustrative and impactful once the year-long Mega Youth Engagement Programme formally begins from February 2026.
Meanwhile, Special Secretary, PD&MD, Owais Ahmed, presented a detailed overview of the portal and briefed the meeting on the activities uploaded so far. He shared the status of actions taken following the previous review meeting held in November and informed that 522 events have already been uploaded by various departments.
He added that hundreds of additional activities are in the pipeline, which will be uploaded after passing through a three-tier maker–checker–approver process to ensure quality, relevance and alignment with the objectives of the Youth Engagement Programme.