The Home Minister highlighted Jammu & Kashmir's achievements in various sectors

Jammu & Kashmir is among the top five States and Union Territories in India in implementing Central Schemes, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.

He was speaking while releasing the District Good Governance Index (DGGI) for 20 districts of Jammu & Kashmir - the first Union Territory in the country to have such an index - virtually.

The J&K District Good Governance Index covers 10 sectors of governance with 116 data items and 58 indices covering agriculture, services, commerce and industry, human resources, environment, justice and public safety, social welfare and development .

Home Minister Shah said that the people were receiving direct benefits from the government schemes in the Union Territory. He congratulated Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for making Jammu and Kashmir a top performer.

Highlighting the achievements of Jammu & Kashmir, he referred to the improvement seen in GST registration and online registration of MSME units.

"There is a 109 percent increase in credit to handicrafts in 2019-2021 period," he added.

Talking about the Human Resources Development sector, he said that the percentage of schools with drinking water, separate toilets and electricity facilities have increased.

"Besides that, the percentage of schools with access to computers and number of children served mid-day meals has also gained momentum. In 10 districts, 100 percent skill trainings have been imparted to registered students," Shah pointed out.

Full immunization has been achieved in the Primary Health Sector. An improvement is also seen in proportion of Anganwadis with own buildings, he said.

"80 percent Aadhar seeding of ration cards represents a major milestone," he noted.

While highlighting Financial Inclusion, he said the Jan Dhan Yojana had achieved universal coverage and financial support under self-employment schemes had registered double digit growth.

Refereeing to the other milestones the UT has reached so far, he said, "a record breaking tourists visited the UT last year and this is all possible due to continuous efforts of centre."

People are taking benefits of various schemes alloted in agriculture and allied sector which includes Kisan Credit Card scheme, soil health card scheme and animal vaccination etc, he added.

The District Good Governance Index of Jammu & Kashmir was a joint effort of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and Jammu and Kashmir Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development in association with the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad.

The process to formulate the District Good Governance Index was rolled out in July 2021.