The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for extension of time period of the Scheme "Special Industry Initiative for J&K" (Sll J&K)- Udaan till 31st December, 2018 without any modification and cost escalation. Initially the time period of Udaan was upto 2016-17.

Udaan provides exposure to the youth of J&K to the best of corporate India and corporate India to the rich talent pool available in the State. So far, 109 leading Corporate have partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under UDAAN with a commitment to train youth from the State covering Organized Retail, Banking, Financial Services, IT, ITES, Infrastructure, Hospitality etc. So far, 34,587 candidates have been selected of whom 31,903 candidates have joined, 22,237 candidates have completed the training, 7,649 are undergoing training and 14,694 have been offered jobs.

In spite of four months of unrest, the scheme has gained a good momentum and pace of implementation has been the best during FY 2016-17 since its inception. More than 12,000 candidates had joined training and nearly 10,000 candidates were offered jobs. 140 mega selection drives were held so far covering all districts of the State.

Udaan is a national integration scheme with the goal to mainstream J&K youth with rest of the country. The scheme not only provides skill enhancement and job opportunity but also connects these bright youths from the J&K with the vibrant corporate sector of India.

Extension of scheme period for Special Industry Initiative for J&K approved to continue training and placement activities. Approval extends the Special Industry Initiative for J&K (UDAAN) period without modification or cost escalation, allowing the Ministry to continue programme arrangements with NSDC and corporate partners to sustain recruitment, training and job-offer activities for J&K youth, preserving existing financial and structural terms.