RENAISSANCE PERIOD
There is no doubt that J&K is passing through a changing phase leaving behind turmoil and tumult, and heading towards progress and prosperity. The constraints which snarled the development in the recent past are all being looked after befittingly by the incumbent governments both at the centre and in the Union Territory leaving no stone unturned to bring about the desired changes to steer the region to new heights of economic stability through people’s involvement. In this context, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has rightly said that new start-ups and innovation in entrepreneurship will cause the needful change in the business environment in the UT. He was addressing the National Academia-Industrial Conclave at Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST). While signing MoUs between IUST and Industry Associations, Businesses, Institutions and the Government, the LG has anticipated that the gap between the academic institutions and the industry will soon be plugged in to come out of void which acted as the bottleneck in the industrial growth. The way LG Sinha has assured that the government is resolute in providing all support to innovative start-ups, it seems that days are not far when the J&K UT will become an industrial hub and people from across the country will come here in search of job opportunities, a case exactly reverse of the present day scenario. There is need to take path-breaking initiatives to bridge the gap between academia and industry as this is the key to development. This is true that a strong Academic-Industry collaboration will bring a meaningful change in the private and public sector, besides providing an opportunity to promote innovation, work on new model of IEC – Innovate, Evolve and Commercialize the relevant technology, building new knowledge to meet the needs of the future. There is no doubt in the assertion that startups can prove to be true game changer for economic growth and the present scenario in the UT is testimony to the fact that the government is determined to provide all the support to brilliant ideas and solutions, and therefore days are not far when the change on ground would become visible. Looking into the change in atmosphere in the UT, one can say with affirmation that sooner than later the UT of J&K will find place in the list of States and UTs, which have progressed by leaps and bounds, and given the country the meaningful support which it needed the most after coping with the economic crisis due to COVID-19.