The construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Awantipora in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir is in full swing. The Government of India had in February 2020 sanctioned two AIIMS for the Union Territory. NCC (Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd) is the construction company that is constructing this prestigious health infrastructure in Kashmir valley, reports ANI. The total cost of the project is around 1828 crores of rupees and the time for completion of this project is 2025. While speaking to ANI, General Manager, NCC, Mukesh Kumar said, "The AIIMS Kashmir is being constructed at 221 acres of land and project cost is 1828 crores of rupees. We are trying to complete this project by January 2025. Once completed, this will benefit the entire Kashmir Valley. They will not have to travel to far-off places upon its completion. It will save their time." He also said that around 57 buildings will be constructed under this project which includes football ground, tennis courts, gardens having medicinal plants etc. READ: J-K to have district-level Governance Index soon, says MoS Jitendra Singh Local residents of Awantipora lauded this step taken by the Government of India as their problems regarding healthcare will be solved. One of the locals said to ANI, "This step taken by the government of India is not only beneficial and good for South Kashmir, but for Kashmir as a whole too. Earlier, people had to go for treatment in Delhi, PGI, Max or other states. We are extremely grateful to the government of India. It is good for locals in Awantipora. NCC is also a great company, the work is going on really fast." Another local added, "It is a great step. It will benefit us. We will not have to go out to another state for our treatment. Also, it is generating employment for the locals." READ: J-K to have district-level Governance Index soon, says MoS Jitendra Singh "It is a matter of pride for Awantipora and J-K as a whole. We are grateful to the government of India. We would not have to go to other hospitals in other states for treatment. The company constructing it is also working fast," added another local.

Jammu and Kashmir will soon become the first Union Territory in the country to have a district-level Good Governance Index, Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. Disclosing this after receiving an update from the newly appointed Secretary of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Union Ministry of Personnel, V Srinivas, MoS Jitendra Singh said, "Centre will set up District Good Governance Index (DGGI) in Jammu and Kashmir and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) will carry out this task in collaboration with the Union Territory Government. The framework of the proposed Index has been finalized with the technical support from the Centre for Good Governance (CGG) Hyderabad." READ: India unveils new initiative to revive crafts sector in Jammu and Kashmir "Jammu and Kashmir will soon become the first Union Territory in the country to have a district-level Good Governance Index," he added. The Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen that we should replicate in Jammu and Kashmir the same best practices of governance which are followed in other States and Union Territories of the country, reports ANI. He said, for a long time, as a result of certain constitutional and administrative constraints, many of the Central Rules of Department of Personnel and Training and ARPG were not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, but in the last over two years, there has been a fast-track attempt to change the work culture and to follow the Mantra of "Maximum Governance, Minimum Government", which has been the guiding principle at the Centre and States ever since the PM Modi government came in 2014. READ: Matter related to Jammu and Kashmir internal issue of India: Dhaka Good Governance Index at the district level will enable each of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir to rise to the level of some of the best-administered districts of the country, with time-bound disposal of office files and other matters, increased transparency, increased accountability and increased citizen participation, said Dr Jitendra Singh. "The next step would be to carry forward these Good Governance practices down to Tehsil and Block level," he added. The DGGI framework has 58 Indicators drawn from different aspects of development and district administration distributed in all-encompassing 10 sectors such as Agriculture and allied sector, Commerce and Industry, Human Resource Development, Public Health, Public Infrastructure and Utilities, Economic Governance, Welfare and Development, Public Safety and Judiciary and Citizen Centric Governance. These indicators were finalized after a series of consultations with the District officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government, Academia, Subject Specialists, etc. Looking at the availability of authentic published data and other key principles, the set of indicators have been finalized from a larger list of 135 to 58. To compute the index and rank, the districts on their performance based on finalized 58 indicators, an elaborate exercise of data collation followed by rigorous data sanitization was undertaken. Final index computation process using standard and tested data normalization and scoring methods is underway. This would result in coming out with Division-wise and District-wise ranks of the districts. While there will be a comprehensive rank of districts based on composite 10 Sectors, the DGGI will also offer a window on the indicator-wise performance of the districts.

Jammu and Kashmir Department of Handicrafts and Handloom on Sunday organised a craft safari tour in Srinagar's Eidgah to boost Kashmir art and promote artisans work. During this craft safari tour, the Director of Handicraft along with other officials, tour operators, hoteliers, houseboat owners, businessmen and civil society members visited many workshops where the artisan community are doing their daily craftwork, reports ANI. Tourists also visit the workshops including wood carving, crewel working, chain stitches, Sozni caps made by pashmina and spinning units where women prepare cotton for pashmina shawls. Read: Indian man beaten to death inside historic Sikh temple The unique and amazing hand works of artisans are famous across the globe and have a good international market. But for the last thirty years of insurgency and overall disturbing atmosphere Kashmir art and artisan community faces a lot of hardships. So, to revive the old aged rich craft government starts a unique type of activity titled craft tours or craft safari walk in old Srinagar where such type of artwork is going on and maximum artisan communities are living there. Recently, Srinagar city also made entry in United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list through old aged rich cultural, traditional art and craft. Speaking to ANI, Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director of Handicraft Kashmir said, "Well Srinagar city is very famous culturally and traditionally and this old aged rich craft has huge importance. Recently Srinagar city made an entry into the UNESCO heritage list due to its art and craft. So the purpose of this special craft safari is to restore the glory of this centuries-old and rich art and promote Kashmir art and artisan community." He further said as Kashmir is a tourist place it is important to promote and show diversity in art and craft in the valley. Such kinds of tours empower artisans to work. "Efforts are aimed at educating tourists about the efforts these artisans put in place by involving tour and travel fraternity and tourism department," said Shah. The artisan community also appreciates the department of handicraft to start this unique initiative in the shape of this craft safari tour and they hope that in future with the help of such types of steps Kashmir art will be promoted and artisans will get some benefits. A wood carving artist, Mudasir said, "I think this is a highly appreciated step taken by the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom to promote the Kashmiri art. We are in this business for the last 200 years and I am associated with this for the last 20 years but this is beyond expectation. Because of our rich art culture recently Kashmir made it the list of UNESCO. I think if the government continues to take such steps like art safari then artisan feel that something is happening for them too. They feel motivated." Mohsin Fayaz, a Sozni work artisan said that with the art safari they getting recognition. Read: India successfully testfires new generation, nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile "This is a very good initiative. From such steps, our crafts get recognition in the market and artisans also get recognition from such tours. There should more such tours for us," said Fayaz. A Crewelwork artisan, Shaista Bilal said this is a very important step especially for women, with this they can earn. Mohsina, a Pashmina artisan said, "This is a very good step as it will also develop our culture. Old artisan work will also get recognition with such an art safari. Women who are coming here to work were setting unemployed at their home and were doing nothing for the last few years but because of the safari they are now getting jobs." Mohsina further said that government should always take such steps to promote Kashmiri culture, art and people's work.

The government of India’s newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has unveiled a new scheme to revive the ailing crafts sector in the region. Known as “Karkhandar,” the scheme seeks to upscale the learning techniques of trainees and help the artisans to improve their standard of living. According to Saudi Gazette, the scheme, which was recently approved by the J&K Administrative Council headed by Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha, would be implemented in the Union Territory of J&K through respective directorates of Handicrafts and Handloom. After J&K’s transition into a Union Territory, the government has taken many initiatives to empower the craftsmen associated with the traditional arts and crafts in J&K. The sectors that were neglected by the erstwhile regimes have been worked upon to get the better results and things have started moving. Many initiatives have been taken to improve the wage earnings of the craftsmen and create linkages with producer organizations to inculcate entrepreneurship skill and aptitude to the trainees. During the past few years traditional industries of Kashmir like: walnut wood carving, silver filigree, carpet, Kani shawl weaving, Khatamband and Papier Machie crafts are facing human resource crunch, but since Aug. 5, 2019 — when the federal government announced its decision to bifurcate J&K into two union territories and abrogated its special status — the lacunas in these industries are being looked into and efforts are being put to ensure that traditional crafts of Kashmir are preserved. Read: India to roll out DNA-based COVID shots for teens in October Background Handicrafts of Jammu and Kashmir are famous for superior craftsmenship, attractive designs, functional utility and quality making. These are popular at national as well as in the international market. After agriculture, handicrafts is a preferred sector in J&K. In economic terms it helps in generation of aggregate employment and raising per capita income of state and hence contributes to State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) and National Income. Jammu & Kashmir handicraft industry facilitates technical know-how between state skilled manpower and international market players through foreign exchange. In J&K there are about 250,000 artisans who are directly dependent upon handicrafts for their livelihood. Besides, there is great potential in this sector for generating more employment opportunities if its markets are expanded and demand is increased. There are 16 unique crafts in Kashmir with which about 60 percent of households are associated directly or indirectly. As per a research, there are about 400,000-500,000 artisans and 179 major craft clusters associated with the handicraft sector of J&K generating the revenue of more than a thousand crore rupees. As per an economic analysis of the handicraft industry in Jammu and Kashmir, this number is 300,000. The twin sectors handlooms and handicrafts are the major and the oldest in India with about 4.3 million weavers and 6.9 million artisans. Kashmiri handicrafts involve about 350,000 craftsmen and artisans. According to a study the handicrafts is the second largest Industry of J&K after tourism. Revival process commenced in 2020 In March 2020, the government directed officials to put in place a robust mechanism for ensuring the revival and propagation of traditional arts and crafts, especially Pashmina weaving. The direction was passed by then Advisor to Lt. Gov. of J&K, K. K. Sharma, while chairing the meetings of the Board of Directors of Jammu and Kashmir Handloom Development Corporation (JKHDC) and Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts Corporation Limited (JKHC). "Necessary measures need to be put in place so that the traditional arts and crafts of the region regain its popularity at the national and international level," Sharma had said. He had also called for undertaking requisite steps for incentivizing weavers and artisans to increase their income besides ensuring the revival of traditional arts and crafts. Read: Vietnam's PM to visit India this year-end The decision was taken to provide minimum support price for the artisans and craftsmen involved in the making of traditional arts and crafts to increase their profitability and attract youth in these heritage professions. To attract the youth towards these traditional arts, the corporations were asked to explore the possibilities of tie-ups with Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) so that start-ups can be undertaken by young and aspiring entrepreneurs. The steps were taken to help young entrepreneurs to setup financially viable and revenue-generating units. The branding, quality certificates, marketing of Jammu and Kashmir based products was also undertaken to ensure that products are sold globally. Opinions of experts from the National Institute of Design and National Institute of Fashion Technology were sought to infuse new life into the ailing industry. Encouraging craftsmen On Aug. 17, 2021, Lt. Gov.’s adviser, Baseer Ahmed Khan, conferred state awards to the artisans in handicrafts section. The awards were given in different categories that included Sozni, Paper Machie, Chain Stitch, Crewel and Carpet. Khan asserted that the government led by Lt. Gov. Sinha was committed to promote the crafts, especially the Handicrafts sector of Jammu Kashmir. The Adviser said that conferring awards on the artisans was an encouragement and the recognition of their efforts to keep alive the skills and trade of Kashmir. While congratulating the awardees, Khan said that the ceremony is to recognize the artisans who represent their respective crafts as no such example of art can be found anywhere in the world and added that various initiatives have been taken to promote and publicize the Kashmir handicrafts worldwide. Source to empower local women On the occasion of International Day for Women in 2020, when Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had announced that he would give away his social media accounts to women whose life and work inspires people to help them ignite motivation in millions, a woman artisan from Kashmir, Arifa, while sharing her journey on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s twitter handle wrote that she always "dreamt of reviving the traditional crafts of Kashmir because this is a means to empower local women." Arifa stated that she started working on reviving Namda craft after seeing the condition of the women artisans in Kashmir. Arifa termed Prime Minister Modi's #SheInspiresUs campaign an initiative that will motivate her to work harder for the betterment of craft as well as the artisans all over the Valley. Her first business activity was participating in an exhibition of handmade items in New Delhi. Read: Indian economy grows by 20.1%, raising hopes of recovery Craft fair at Kashmir Haat In July this year, J&K Lt. Gen. Sinha inaugurated a15-day long craft fair at Kashmir Haat. It served as a boon for artisans and businesses and a breath of fresh air for locals and tourists. Sinha while inaugurating the fair stated that government’s aim is to empower the handicraft, handloom artisans and improve living standards of present and future generations of Kashmiri artisans. “With endeavors like revamping the Kashmir Haat, we are strengthening our commitment to providing market support to local artisans and weavers," LG Sinha said. He revealed the plans of the government to provide new markets, create sustainable livelihood for the local artisans, besides preserving rich cultural heritage of J&K. During the past two years J&K administration has taken various steps to support the artisans in J&K. They have been offered financial aid and support to live a dignified life. The craft fair was an extension of the initiatives that the government has taken to give a major boost to PM Modi's "vocal for local" mantra.