The positive results of the District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir are now showing in the Valley as several schemes which were stuck for years earlier are getting functional.
 
The Jammu and Kashmir bank is also providing loans to below poverty line residents of Kotranka sub-division of Rajouri district and has also started a Saral/Saholiyat finance scheme for people who want to run shops or stores in tehsil.

"Around 80 per cent of people in this tehsil are below the poverty line. The government has taken a lot of initiative to uplift them via the implementation and promotion of various schemes like MNREGA," said Mohd Shafiq, a local Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representative, told ANI.

"Schemes under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) are being implemented for fish farming and animal husbandry. Farmers have also benefited from the Prime Minister Kisan Nidhi Yojana," Shafiq added.

J&K bank said that loans are also provided so that the people can become self-employed and run their own small-scale businesses in the tehsil.

"Schemes like Stand-Up India, Back to Village-III, Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), and Jammu and Kashmir Rural Employment Generation Programme aim at the upliftment of the poor people. Since the area is good for agricultural produce, the government is implementing a lot of agriculture-based schemes," Sanjeev Singh, Branch Manager, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Kotranka told the news agency.

The local and central government continue to work jointly to help Kashmiris gain financial stability.

"Schemes provide loans to small scale industries which has made it easy to start and run a business in Kotranka. Schemes like UDAAN are very beneficial for the people," says Wajhat Hussain, a resident of the area.