JKEDI without director since March 1

Srinagar, Mar 16: Hundreds of cases of unemployed youth seeking financial assistance have piled up at the J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) at Pampore, as the institute has been headless for more than two weeks.
Since the Founder Director JKEDI, Dr M I Parray, attained superannuation on March 1, the government has failed to appoint the new director.
Even after complete in all respects, in-charge of the Seed Capital Fund Scheme (SCFS), Irshad Ahmad Naqshbandi, said around 150 cases in the scheme alone were awaiting the director’s approval.
While seed money up to Rs 7.5 lakh is given to an entrepreneur under SCFS, the rest of the business cost is provided through bank finance on low interest rates.
“Although we have forwarded the files to the steering committee (for approval), but there would not be any disbursement until and unless the director is there,” Naqshbandi said.
The powers for approving the cases, Naqshbandi said, “lie with the director JKEDI”.
“The disbursement in the SCFS is done by the director,” he added.
Saying that the steering committee having commissioner secretary Industries and Commerce department and Director JKEDI as members was to approve the cases of the entrepreneurs, a JKEDI insider remarked, “…now when there is no director, the cases, although complete in all respects, remain unattended”.
Besides SCFS, hundreds of files under the Youth Start-up Loan Scheme (YSLS) have also piled up at the JKEDI, an official at the institute told The Kashmir Monitor.
Under the YSLS, direct off-bank finance at 6 percent simple interest is provided to eligible entrepreneurs at the JKEDI.
Besides SCFS and YSLS, the official said that dozens of applications of financial assistance under the ‘Himayat’ scheme were also awaiting the director’s approval.
Commissioner Secretary Industries and Commerce, Shailendra Kumar, said that the new director would be appointed “within a week or ten days”.
Established in the year 1997, the JKEDI, the lone such institute in the state, started functioning from 2004.
Besides SCFS, YSLS and Himayat, the JKEDI provides loans to marginalized sections of the society at 6 percent simple interest rate in collaboration with the National Minorities Development Finance Corporation (NMDFC).