JAMMU, JANUARY 11: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today urged the Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB) to identify certain products, give them a brand name and promote these in the market. He expressed these ideas in the 106th Board Meeting held today under his chairmanship. The meeting was attended by the board members including Vice Chairperson, KVIB; Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce; Commissioner Secretary, RDD; DG, I&C, Jammu; Director, I&C, Kashmir; CEO/Secretary, KVIB and many other concerned officers and officials. Dr Mehta impressed upon the Board to certify their products so that their saleable value increases in the market. He observed that people prefer quality products and the quality has to be certified by the third party for its acceptability. He enjoined upon the officers to use standard certification methods for enhancing the appeal of products among the customers. The Chief Secretary enquired about the average time of loan disbursement to the applicants. He stressed on shortening the waiting period for applicants besides further accelerating the process to increase their number. Dr Mehta asked the Board to take innovative measures in value addition and creation of market linkages. He advised the Board to look into handholding of youth in establishment of Leather processing in J&K , the raw material for which is available locally. He told them to take better consultancy advice in this regard so that employment generation for youth takes place. He also told them to hold the Board meetings regularly and look for avenues to generate revenue for the Board to meet its expenses. He made out that the recruitment rules should be reviewed wherever necessary as per updated requirements. He asked for bringing in fresh talent to KVIB by engaging the management and other technical professionals in it. The meeting was informed that in the previous 6 years from 2018-19 the Board has been successful in establishing 20772 units under PM Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) generating employment for about 166172 persons. It was elucidated that the board has achieved its target by more than 5 folds thereby achieving first rank in the country in implementation of this programme. It was also given out that under JK Rural Employment Generation Programme (JKREGP) the Board has established more than 3000 units from 2018-2022 thereby generating employment for nearly 18000 persons. It was revealed that the board invites applications online so that the process is more transparent, smooth and hassle-free for the benefit of all the applicants.
