Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, on Saturday chaired a meeting of the UT-Level Steering Committee (Non-Farm Livelihoods) under the Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (JKRLM) Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP), which accorded in-principle approval to six Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) worth ₹36 crore aimed at promoting rural entrepreneurship and sustainable non-farm livelihood opportunities across Jammu and Kashmir.
The approved DPRs pertain to six new SVEP blocks—Sogam-Wavoora, Pulwama-Litter, Chadoora-Surasyar, Khour-Paragwal, Pouni-Reasi and Bhadarwah-Bhalla—where over 12,000 enterprises are projected to be established over the next four years.
The meeting was attended by Mission Director, JKRLM, Dr. Shubhra Sharma; Chief Operating Officer, HIMAYAT, Rajneesh Gupta; besides representatives from the Forest, Ecology & Environment Department, Tribal Affairs Department, Social Welfare Department, Handicrafts & Handloom Department, Industries & Commerce Department, MSME, KVIC, NABARD, RSETIs, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) and other stakeholder institutions.
Officials informed the committee that Jammu & Kashmir has been implementing SVEP since 2015–16 with technical support from National Resource Organisation (NRO) partners, including EDII. The programme initially commenced in the pilot blocks of Lar in Ganderbal district and Basohli in Kathua district, where nearly 2,500 entrepreneurs were established during the first phase.
With the approval of the six new DPRs, SVEP coverage in Jammu & Kashmir will now expand from eight to 14 districts.
The Secretary stated that the newly approved DPRs focus on promoting innovative rural enterprises aligned with local resources and market demand. He highlighted sectors identified for intervention, including walnut oil and butter extraction, sheep wool processing, trout fish processing, village and border homestay eco-tourism, vermi-compost production, saffron value addition, herbal tea processing, amla-based products, and honey processing with value addition and packaging.
Emphasising the need for scientific identification of viable enterprises, Aijaz Asad stressed that enterprise selection should be guided by local demand patterns, consumption trends and rural spending behaviour.
He directed officials to prioritise economically sustainable enterprises supported by robust market linkages and value-addition opportunities to ensure long-term livelihood generation for rural youth and women.
The Secretary also underscored the importance of strengthening entrepreneurship training, capacity building and monitoring mechanisms for effective implementation of the approved projects. He stated that entrepreneurship development should be decentralised to the village level through community-based training modules and Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes.
Calling for stronger inter-departmental convergence, he directed stakeholders to ensure timely execution and rigorous monitoring so that maximum benefits reach aspiring rural entrepreneurs across Jammu and Kashmir.
Data presented during the meeting revealed that non-farm livelihood initiatives in Jammu & Kashmir have so far supported 26,551 enterprises, including 26,217 individual enterprises and 355 group enterprises under NRLM and SVEP.
SVEP is a sub-scheme under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, aimed at promoting non-farm entrepreneurship among Self-Help Group (SHG) members and their families in rural areas.
