Pulwama MLA Waheed ur Rehman Para has raised questions over the recruitment process under Mission YUVA, alleging that the hiring of consultants has been restricted to graduates from Indian Institute of Management Jammu and Indian Institute of Technology Jammu.
Para said limiting opportunities to only two institutions excludes a large pool of qualified students from other universities across Jammu and Kashmir. He questioned why graduates from institutions such as University of Jammu, University of Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University and Mata Vaishno Devi University are not being considered for the positions.
According to documents related to the Mission YUVA Project Management Unit (PMU), several consultant positions are being offered with monthly remunerations ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh. The eligibility criteria for many of these roles specify graduates from IIM Jammu or IIT Jammu, prompting criticism from the MLA who argued that such a restriction undermines equal opportunity for local graduates.
“If it is truly about merit, then the government should open the applications to all universities across Jammu and Kashmir and select the best candidates through a fair process,” Para said. He also questioned why the recruitment has been capped only to these two institutions when even students from other IIMs and IITs across the country are not being considered.
The MLA further claimed that both IIM Jammu and IIT Jammu reportedly have a majority of students from outside Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that the policy could deprive local students of high-paying opportunities within their own region.
Para urged the government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to review the hiring framework under Mission YUVA and ensure that recruitment is conducted through an open and transparent process accessible to graduates from all universities in the Union Territory.
Mission YUVA has been introduced to strengthen entrepreneurship, skilling, and employment initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir, with consultants expected to support programme implementation at UT and divisional levels.
