Union Minister for Textile and Women & Child Development Smriti Irani has stressed on the need to look at multi-sectoral contribution to enhance the economy of the newly-formed union territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. “There is a need to look at opportunities from a health and nutritional perspective for holistic development and prosperity,” she said at the recently-held Kashmironomics conclave in New Delhi.
Kashmironomics  is a not-for-profit initiative to complement the Government of India’s efforts to usher in a new era of development and progress of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. The intent behind the Kashmironomics forum is to bring together key stakeholders to ideate and identify the way forward for economic prosperity in the region, which will provide the talented and hard-working people with more significant opportunities via sustained economic development underpinned by stability, safety and security, according to organisers.
Praising the step taken towards aiding government initiatives, Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Railways, and Commerce & Industry said, “This forum is a great step towards stimulating discussions around key aspects of economic development in Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.” He pledged to provide equal opportunity to every member of the region while requesting everyone in the audience to contribute collectively to the cause.
The event saw multiple panel sessions, with discussions on exploring ways to evolve an ecosystem that helps businesses thrive in the region, critical steps needed to ensure a secure environment for the industry, making social and infrastructure growth an inherent part of economic development, and finding ways to promote entrepreneurship in the region.
Siddharth Zarabi, co-founder of Kashmironomics, said, “The main agenda to come up with such forums is to curate diverse perspectives for the economic growth of the Valley, right from industry and education to startups, healthcare and many more.”
Added Pranshu Sikka, co-founder of the forum, “The series of events will ultimately culminate into the formation of a Recommendation Paper, which will outline key focus areas and action points to navigate current economic challenges and draw a plan for development. The Paper will be vetted by a select group of the expert taskforce, and will be presented to the government for further action.”