The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, the Centre’s flagship rural skilling programme, has completed 12 years since its launch on September 25, 2014.

Under the revamped DDU-GKY 2.0 guidelines notified in May 2025, fresh training batches will begin in October 2026, covering 34,920 rural youth across 1,164 batches in 14 states and Union Territories.

The programme has a sanctioned training target of 3,57,112 candidates by December 31, 2027, with the Union Budget 2026-27 allocating Rs 750 crore for the scheme.

The scheme reserves 50 per cent of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 33 per cent for women and 5 per cent for persons with disabilities, and provides free residential training with placement support.

Officials said the 2.0 version places greater emphasis on emerging sectors and quality placements, as the government looks to connect rural youth with formal employment.

The programme is implemented through project implementing agencies that run residential training centres across the country. Graduates are tracked after placement, and the revamped guidelines link payments to agencies more closely to verified job outcomes.