The Ministry of Rural Development is accelerating the rollout of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0, with training batches scheduled to commence across most States and Union Territories from October 2026. This centrally sponsored scheme provides placement-linked skill training to poor rural youth with training durations varying from 3 to 12 months.
As of September 2026, the DDU-GKY 2.0 portal shows that 24 States/UTs have allocated 5.6 lakh targets to more than 1,200 projects through Project Implementation Agencies (PIAs). Across these 24 States/UTs, 2,015 batches involving approximately 70,000 rural youth are expected to begin training in October 2026. Other States are in advanced stages of target allocation.
All 31 participating States/UTs have been allocated more than 9 lakh targets under the DDU-GKY 2.0 scheme for the two-year period spanning 2026-28. States/UTs are responsible for mobilizing rural youth and organizing placement-linked skill training in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, following National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) aligned courses to ensure sustained employability of beneficiaries.
The Ministry has emphasized that this represents a crucial implementation phase and has called upon implementing States/UTs to accelerate target allocations to PIAs and commence batches according to envisaged timelines. States/UTs must ensure allocation of targets to PIAs for commencement of trainings by October 31, 2026. Review meetings are being held in phases with States/UTs to gather momentum in the processes leading to batch commencements.