JAMMU, MARCH 17: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly today passed the grants amounting to Rs 2796.07 lakh for Information Technology, Rs 70312.76 lakh for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Rs 4048.90 Lakh for ARI Training, Labour stationery and Printing, Rs 12617.03 lakh for Transport, Rs 62154.91 lakh for Youth Services and Sports and Rs 17279.10 lakh for Science and Technology departments.
Summing up the discussion, the Minister said that the Jammu and Kashmir government is driving a comprehensive digital transformation mission to deliver inclusive and hassle-free services. The IT Department of Jammu and Kashmir stands at the forefront of the region’s digital revolution, dedicated to enhancing governance efficiency, transparency, and citizen empowerment through cutting-edge digital technologies, he added.
“Over the past many years, the number of online services has increased from around 60 to 1166, along with a provision for capturing citizen feedback through the Rapid Assessment System and integration with Mobile Dost, Digi-Locker. All the online services are being brought under the ambit of auto appeal and auto-escalation mechanism as per provisions of the Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011”, informed the Minister.
“Digital Village Centres shall be established in 1000 Gram Panchayat locations with a vision to improve the connectivity and outreach besides extension of e-office services”, added the Minister.
Additionally, the IT Department shall implement various other e-governance initiatives like Automation of Hospitals, Unified Dashboard, Digital Signage for dissemination of information at the district and Panchayat level to the citizens, IVRS, establishment of NOC/SOC to support e-governance at the grassroots level.
Regarding the Department of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs, the Minister said that the department has been functioning in J&K with the prime motive to provide food security to different sections of society through the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
The Minister said that 16.64 lakh households comprising 66.82 lakh beneficiaries under NFSA are eligible to receive free food grains every month in J&K under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). While each AAY household gets 35 kg of food grains every month, free of cost, each beneficiary in a Priority Household gets 5 kg of food grains every month, free of cost, he added.
He informed that food grains are also made available at a scale of 5 kg per beneficiary, at a highly affordable and subsidized cost of rice @ Rs.15/kg, wheat @ Rs. 12/kg, and wheat flour @ Rs.13/kg, to around 8.15 lakh Non-Priority Households (NPHH), comprising nearly 31.70 lakh beneficiaries in J&K.
The Minister said that the government is presently implementing the Prime Minister’s Food Supplementation for Priority Households Scheme in the UT. The scheme is providing an additional 5 kg of rice every month to a member of PHH, subject to a maximum of 10 kg per household for Rs 25/kg only, in a manner that the total entitlement of the household does not exceed 35 kg under all schemes, he added. He said that 13.49 lakh Households are eligible under this scheme.
The Minister informed that providing additional free food grains, in the context of AAY families, is a proposal in the Annual Financial Statement of 2025-26. Moreover, sugar is also being provided to AAY families, at a scale of 1 Kg/ family per month at the rate of Rs 13.50 per Kg only.
He said that following the shifting to the Ration Card Management System in September 2022, about 28996 new Ration Cards under NFSA and 45075 under NPHH have been issued to the deserving households and the registered e-shram registrants, reported to be not covered under the Public Distribution System.
The Minister further said that after deleting duplicate beneficiaries through de-duplication and field verification, the J&K government has ordered for inclusion of children born after Census 2011, during the years 2011 to 2016, for extending them the benefits under PDS.
The Minister informed that the distribution network of the department comprises around 6630 Sale Outlets, of which, 4645 are Fair Price Shops and 1985 are Government Sale Centres. Of these, 6390 (96%) are working in an online mode and 240 are working in an offline mode.
The Minister said that the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) was implemented across Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 and presently the facility is available in 96% of the Sale Centres where devices work in an online mode. “Jammu and Kashmir is at 9th rank in the country in terms of ONORC transactions”, he added.
The Minister said that the department has pursued reforms in a mission mode to make the Public Distribution System (PDS) transparent, credible, and convenient to the public. He added that the nominee policy has also been put in place for the benefit of beneficiaries, who are old, sick, disabled, minors, and working class with worn-out fingerprints, to ensure a regular supply of ration to these beneficiaries through their nominees. Additionally, the department has also introduced Aadhar-based OTP, to facilitate transactions in such cases, where biometrics fail, he added.
Regarding the Administrative Reforms, Inspections, and Trainings Department, the Minister said that it plays a pivotal role in enhancing governance, improving administrative efficiencies, and ensuring transparency in public service delivery. “The department acts as a facilitator of good governance, ensuring that the administration functions efficiently, transparently, and in the best interest of the public”, he added.
The Minister said that the ARI & Trainings Department has been mandated to finalize, update,e and amend the Service Recruitment Rules. “After reconstitution of the Standing Committee in April 2024 to vet the proposal and amend the Service Recruitment Rules, Recruitment Rules of 15 services have been cleared by the said Committee during the current financial year,” he added.
The Minister informed that, so far, the department has analyzed the Recruitment Rules of 65 services of various departments in a Mission Mode. He said that the department has issued NDC mandatory in respect of Education Loan availed for Diploma/Degree courses. The department has issued 377 NDCs and an amount of Rs 32.97 lakh stand realized in the government exchequer during the current financial year, he added.
During the current financial year, 1107 allocated seats for MBBS, 108 allocated seats for BDS, and 21 allocated seats for MDS have been filled, he added. Besides, out of 320 allocated seats for AYUSH, 305 seats have been filled and 229 seats have been filled out of 330 allocated seats for B.Ed.
Regarding B.Tech admissions, out of 2462 allocated seats 757 seats have been filled. In addition, admission to 4706 paramedical courses has been finalized” he informed.
The Minister also announced the adoption of an e-counseling system for admission through JKBOPEE to various professional courses starting from the next academic session.
The Minister said that MVD has been entrusted with the responsibility of administering the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules through regulatory and enforcement mechanisms. He added that another wing under the Transport Department is the State Motor Garages, which has been entrusted with the job of maintaining light motor vehicles of all State Government Departments including the B.P. Vehicles of Ministers, other protected serving government officers, and vehicles attached with the SSG/SSF.
The Minister said that JKRTC is one of the important wings of the Transport department, which plays a crucial role in providing regular, adequate, economical, and coordinated services to the public in J&K as well as outside the UT.
Regarding the Department of Youth Services & Sports, the Minister said that the department is striving to create world-class sports infrastructure to promote sports activities and optimally tap the constructive and creative energy of the sportspersons of J&K.
The Minister informed that more than 65.24 lakh youth were engaged in different sports activities in the year 2024-25 under the slogan My Youth My Pride, Har Din Khel Har Ek Ke Liye Khel, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, Jan Abhiyan, Calendar of Sports Associations and Regular Coaching Programmes, till date.
The Minister said that Khel Gaon Nagrota Jammu is one of the prestigious upcoming multi-sports hubs costing Rs 33.39 crore, spread over an area of 163 Kanal of land. The facility included major projects like an athletics track, hockey turf, cycling track, and multi-sports indoor hall.
The Minister said that the process of recruitment of outstanding sports persons is being carried out strictly by the rules governing the field. For this purpose, a high-powered committee including the senior officers of various departments like Home, Finance, GAD, Youth Services and Sports Department, and Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs had been constituted. “The recruitment under the relevant rules is being carried out in a very transparent manner and is being finalized shortly” he added,
The Minister said that JAKEDA, which is a Nodal Agency for the promotion and development of Renewable Energy projects, has taken up solarization of all government buildings in J&K. Around 22,000 government buildings are proposed to be solarized under the project. So far, 4673 buildings with a cumulative capacity of 39.6 MW have been solarized, he informed.
The Minister said that 8500 buildings are being solarized at an approximate project cost of Rs 400 crore in Capex mode with a cumulative capacity of 70 MW and the remaining buildings would be solarized in RESCO mode. Around 320 MW capacity would be added to the Grid by way of solarizing the government buildings during the year 2025, he added.
The Minister said that the Jammu & Kashmir Science, Technology & Innovation Council, functioning under the Department of Science & Technology, has sponsored 400 R&D projects across 18 prestigious institutions including IITs, NITs, Medical Colleges, Central Universities, Cluster Universities, Universities of Kashmir and Jammu. Further, JKSTIC has provided seed money to 100 budding innovators to develop prototypes of their innovations, he added.
The Minister said that Biotechnology Park at Ghatti, Kathua, is being established by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, in collaboration with IBM, and CSIR which will be completed in the Financial Year 2025-26 and shall be handed over to J&K.
The Minister informed that BT park at Handwara in Kupwara district shall be completed during the Financial Year 2026-27. The Sub-Regional Science Centre at Srinagar is being established in collaboration with the National Council of Science Museum, Ministry of Culture, and GoI and is likely to be completed by the end of the next financial year, he added.