Srinagar, Jan. 7 -- Jammu and Kashmir is standing at the cusp of a transformation that could redefine its economic and social fabric. For decades, youth here have been caught in the exhausting pursuit of government jobs, their aspirations colliding with limited vacancies and a weak private sector. The result has been stark: an unemployment rate of 23.1%, more than three times India's national average of 7.4%, with over 3.7 lakh young people registered as unemployed. Among them are more than 1.13 lakh graduates and postgraduates, a figure that speaks to both the scale of wasted potential and the urgency of reform.

It is against this backdrop that Mission YUVA has been conceived; a flagship initiative of the government of Jammu and Kashmir...