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Modi pledges $12bn in relief and development for Kashmir
SRINAGAR: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged 800 billion rupees in funds to bolster development and economic growth in India-held Kashmir, a year after the worst flooding in more than a century destroyed half a million homes there.
Addressing several thousand people in a cricket stadium in Srinagar, Modi said he wanted to go beyond helping flood victims.
He promised to create jobs for Kashmiri youth by improving education and promoting industries, including tourism and cashmere wool.
"The biggest task at hand here is to find work for the youth of Kashmir and Ladakh ... our youth should get the cheapest and the best education, and of global standards," he said. Ladakh is another mountainous region in the north.