Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana [DDU-GKY]

In 2014, the Government of India set an ambitious goal of providing skill development training to 500 million youth of the country by 2022. On 25 September 2014, the esteemed occasion of the 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

It is an initiative by the Ministry of Rural Development and follows a vision to transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce.” Along with the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), DDU-GKY is also part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), a poverty alleviation project by MoRD.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana Objectives

• Include diversity in the incomes of poor rural families
• Allow rural youth to pursue their career aspirations
• Allow youth to access profitable and sustainable employment opportunities
• Provide skill training, development, and placements programs to the rural youth
• To find and nurture new training service providers
• Design inclusive programs to cover socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST/OBC, Women)

Skill Training and Placement Program of DDU-GKY

The Skill training and placement program under DDU-GKY has been designed to provide placement, retention, career progression, foreign placement, and post-placement support to rural youth. It has been designed around eight distinct steps.

Step 1 - Identifying rural youth who are poor and need help with identifying career prospects.

Step 2 - Mobilize rural youth who are interested.

Step 3 - Organize counselling sessions for the identified youth along with their parents and family.

Step 4 - Organize awareness-building activities among the identified community.

Step 5 - Select the best suited amongst the group through aptitude tests.

Step 6 - Provide them with relevant knowledge and skill development that enhance employability.

Step 7 - Provide them with jobs that pay more than minimum wages and have scope for career growth.

Step 8 - Provide post-placement support for employment sustainability.

DDU-GKY Implementation Model

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana funds private educational institutes and skill training and development centres to impart training to the rural youth free of cost. The funds also allow institutes to open modern and well-equipped training centres for the benefit of the youth.

• Qualified and knowledgeable trainers at these training centres provide job focussed skills training to the students. The students are also trained in soft skills like public speaking, how to sit for an interview, leadership development, CV writing, etc. If some students do not know how to use laptops and phones, they are trained in that too.
• Students are provided with free-of-cost uniforms, books, study material, laptops/tablets, etc. Meals are also provided once per day.
• In the case of in-house residential training, the training centres cover the food and accommodation cost.
• After completion of the training, candidates are also offered placement support.

Special Initiatives of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

• Roshni

Roshni is a special initiative that considers the difficult situations in extremist-affected districts. Under this initiative, candidates are offered a mandatory residential course in which 40% of the students are women. The training is focused on developing education, health, and infrastructure facilities in the affected areas along with youths' employment options.

• Himayat

Himayat is a special initiative under DDU-GKY for Jammu and Kashmir, covering urban and rural youth. Candidates below and above the poverty line are eligible to apply for the skill development courses.

Resource States of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been identified as resource states as they have been greatly successful in organizing skill development programs. Other states who face difficulties while organizing the programs are advised to reach out to resource states for help and support.

FAQs on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Q.1. Who was Deen Dayal Upadhyaya?

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was an Indian politician and advocate of the Hindutva ideology adopted by the RRS. He is also known for drafting Jan Sangh's official political principle, Integral Humanism.

Q.2. How many students have been placed under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana?

As of now, in March 2022, more than 6,60,000 rural youth has been trained and successfully placed under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

Q.3. Who is the secretary of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana MoRD team?

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha is the secretary of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana MoRD team.

Q.4. Who are the training partners in Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana?

Training partners are the project implementation agencies under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. They bridge the gap between the training candidates and the training service providers.