Srinagar, Jan. 5 -- More than 1.59 lakh registrations were recorded under Mission YUVA in the past six months with 44,857 proposals approved and loans worth Rs.756.28 crore sanctioned in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday. On June 28 last year, chief minister Omar Abdullah launched the much-anticipated Mission YUVA (Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan), a visionary initiative to foster entrepreneurship in J&K by creating 1.37 lakh enterprises and 4.25 lakh jobs in five years. According to the officials, "The mission has recorded 1,59,327 registrations, with 65,353 applications submitted so far. Through a structured, multi-tier process, 44,857 proposals were approved, 13,324 cases sanctioned by banks, and 10,329 entrepreneurs have already received disbursements." Officials said that banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs.756.28 crore, with Rs.594 crore disbursed. "An average project cost of Rs.6.59 lakh underscores the Mission's focus on inclusive, employment-intensive enterprises. Notably, over 77 % of sanctioned cases have already been disbursed," the official said. Mission YUVA is an initiative aimed to connect the youth of the Union Territory with skills, opportunities and dignity, while fundamentally reshaping the idea of employment. Conceived by the government of Jammu & Kashmir in collaboration with IIM Jammu, NABARD, J&K Bank, other financial institutions and livelihood experts, Mission YUVA is rooted in data-driven planning and institutional reform, the official said. Designed for people in the age group of 18-59 years, Mission YUVA aims to facilitate the creation of 1.37 lakh enterprises through four focused interventions: creation of Nano Enterprises, establishment of new MSMEs in sunrise and priority sectors, acceleration of existing enterprises, and promotion of neo-innovative enterprises. The Mission focuses on structured credit linkage, institutional facilitation and sustained hand-holding to ensure enterprise viability....