J&K’s youth transforming mountains into opportunities, says CM Omar at startup summit
Srinagar, July 23: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the young minds of the Valley are turning geographical barriers into stepping stones for innovation, as he inaugurated the ‘ASCEND 2026’ startup summit here and called for building a resilient entrepreneurial culture in the Union Territory.
“The slogan of this summit — ‘Where Mountains Meet Momentum’ — can be interpreted in two ways. Either the mountains are the end to momentum, acting as barriers, or they are challenges that we take upon ourselves to summit,” CM Omar said in his inaugural address.
“It is essentially our mindset that defines how we see these mountains and how we approach this momentum,” he added.
The Chief Minister invoked the concept of “successful failure” to drive home the need for a resilient startup culture in the region.
“Every failure is a lesson and every lesson brings you closer to success. Thomas Edison did not fail a thousand times; he actually found thousands of ways that a light bulb would not work,” he said.
“Through ASCEND 2026, we are trying to inculcate this culture into J&K — we should never be afraid to fail. The only thing we should be afraid of is not trying,” CM Omar emphasised.
The two-day event, being held in Srinagar, aims to bring together startups, innovators, investors and policymakers on a single platform to foster a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Himalayan region.
The Chief Minister said the objective was to help “germinate an idea from something that might have been scribbled on the back of a napkin to something that can ultimately reach consumers in J&K, the rest of the country, and perhaps other parts of the world.”
Highlighting the ingenuity of local youth, CM Omar cited several grassroots innovations on display at the venue, including a sensor-based device that prevents water pipes from freezing during harsh winters — a problem that has plagued households across the Valley for decades.
“Youngsters have connected a water tank with sensors; the moment the temperature drops, the pipe drains automatically. No water, nothing to freeze,” he said.
He also mentioned a digitally connected water meter system proposed by another young innovator, who drew inspiration from his own experience of living at the tail end of a water supply scheme, along with detectors for carbon monoxide poisoning and automatic gas regulators to prevent winter fatalities.
“Small innovative ideas. These are practical solutions by youngsters who see the problem and want to innovate a solution. I always go back with a great sense of hope because I see in these youngsters people who are looking at practical problems that we face today and coming up with practical realistic solutions that they believe can be implemented,” CM Omar Abdullah said.
The Chief Minister recalled the journey of Bilal, a local solar energy entrepreneur from the Valley, whom he first came across through a newspaper report when the young innovator launched his solar-powered car.
“As he said, if he had got this kind of support years ago when he started, perhaps instead of Elon Musk, he would have been there. So who knows, from ASCEND 2026, if not immediately Elon Musk, at least some budding unicorns,” he said.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to supporting young entrepreneurs through schemes like seed capital funding, CM Omar urged the youth to come forward with their ideas.
“This is exactly what ASCEND is meant for. It’s to tell these youngsters that no idea is a bad idea. Every idea somewhere or the other has potential; it just needs to be defined and worked on,” he further added. (KNS)
