By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI:The Ministry of Rural Development is set to roll out Deen Dayal Upadhyaya- Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0 training batches across most States/UTs from October 2026. Preparedness for the commencement of training batches was reviewed with 14 States/UTs in the first phase — Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Karnataka, Telangana and Bihar.
1,164 batches with 34,920 rural youth will start their training in October 2026, against a sanctioned target of 3,57,112 rural youth to be trained by 31st December 2027 in these 14 States/UTs. As per the DDU-GKY 2.0 portal, allocation of 5.6 lakh targets towards more than 1,200 projects has been done by 24 States/UTs. Other States are in the advanced stages of target allocation. Review meetings in phases will expedite the processes of batch commencement.
Preparedness for DDU-GKY 2.0
DDU-GKY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for poor rural youth providing placement linked skill training. Duration of the training varies from 3 months to 12 months. The meeting reviewed the preparedness of States/UTs for implementation of DDU-GKY 2.0. The targets have been allocated to all the 31 participating States/UTs for 2-year period 2026-28. The Ministry emphasised that this is a crucial phase for State/UT action and called upon implementing States/UTs to accelerate the allocation of targets to Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) and to commence batches as per envisaged timelines.
States/UTs are supposed to ensure allocation of targets to PIAs for commencement of training latest by 31 October 2026. States/UTs are at different stages of preparation, and, based on information received by this Ministry from across the implementing 31 States/UTs, more than 5 lakh targets have already been allocated to PIAs for mobilisation of eligible rural youths. Most of the States will be able to commence mobilization and training in the month of October, 2026.
Integrated DDU-GKY 2.0 Portal
The Ministry highlighted that the DDU-GKY 2.0 Integrated Portal is equipped to facilitate end-to-end project life cycle, promoting greater efficiency, transparency and digital monitoring.
The integration of the portal with State Treasury Portals, wherever pending, was reviewed. States/UTs were advised to complete the required integration by 30 September 2026 to facilitate online payments through the Grameen Kaushal Portal.
To familiarise PIAs with the end-to-end digital platform, the Ministry is organising regional workshops in hybrid mode at four locations during October 2026. States/UTs have been requested to ensure physical participation of a few PIAs in these workshops. The workshops are going to be held at Shillong (5.10.2026), Vijayavada (7.10.2026), Mumbai (9.10.2026) and Dharamshala (16.10.2026) providing opportunities to brief PIAs on the DDU-GKY 2.0 portal, its processes and functionalities, and to address implementation-related concerns.
The financial status of the scheme was also reviewed during the meeting. States/UTs participating in the review indicated that expenditure is expected to increase with the commencement of training batches from October 2026 onwards.
The review meeting was held with participation of Joint Secretary Skills and Director (Skills) and CEOs, COOs and other State officials over Video Conferencing.
