DDU-GKY is thedemand-driven placement-linked skill training initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development,Government of India (MoRD), uniquely aimed at rural poor youth between 15 and 35 years of age,with the purpose to create income diversity in poor families and help rural youth realize their career aspirations.

DDU-GKY has its origins in the ‘Special Projects’ component of the Swarnajayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana (SGSY), which was positioned as a holistic livelihoods intervention in 2004. The SGSY special projects provided time-bound training and capacity building for bringing a specific number of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families above poverty through skilling and placement in jobs that provided regular wage employment. Up until May 2013, around 8.60 lakh had been trained and 6.80 lakh youth had been given placement. This programme was revisited under a new Skills framework and repositioned under Aajeevika as DeenDayalUpadhyaya – GrameenKaushalyaYojana (DDU-GKY) on AntyodayaDiwas (25th Sep 2013) with the launch of new Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

DDU-GKY was set up to provide hopes and aspirations for a better quality of life to a large section of the rural poor. India has approximately 55 million rural youth between the age group of 15-35 yrs. who are below poverty line and with16.16 million persons entering into the working age each year, there is a need for them to be skilled, reskilled and up-skilled. However, it is estimated that only 4.69% of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skill training as compared to 68% in UK, 75% in Germany, 52% in USA, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. On the other side, there is a demand of 109.73 million skilled manpower by 2022 in twenty-four key sectors. Therefore DDU-GKY seeks to fill this gap by imparting specific set of Modular Employable Skills (MES) needed to access full time jobs in the formal sector.

DDU-GKY is currently being implemented in 21 States and UTs, impacting youth from 568 districts, by over 670 projects being implemented by over 300 Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs). At present, DDU-GKY has over 1.55 lakh candidates currently in training and placements. In the coming 2-3 years, DDU-GKY approved projects to impact over 13 lakh rural poor youth at a cost of over Rs. 4,300 Cr.

DDU-GKY provides demand-driven placement-linked skill training so that you can learn a new skill, earn your way to new identity, gain respect and fulfill your income and career aspirations. The following services are to be provided to every enrolled candidate:

• Get face to face counselling and guidance
• Find out what you’re good at, get chosen for a skill based on your aptitude
• Learn new skills and new technology in modern fully equipped training centres
• Earn a government accepted certificate upon successful completion
• Get placement opportunities and interact with potential employers
• Find a job that pays you a minimum salary of Rs. 6,000/- per month (at least 75% of all those who successfully completed training will be placed)
• Get support to shift to a new city and job (if needed)

As per National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015, the skill demand in India is 109.73 million. This translates to over 16 million each year from now, of whom 3 million are already being trained in Universities / Colleges. Out of the balance 13 million, close to 50% need to be trained in Modular Employable Skills (MES). By 2020, India is also expected to have a surplus of 56 million youth while the rest of the world faces a shortage of 47 million. Moreover, in a fast changing industrial environment, it is recognised that skill building is not a static process and that individual’s skills needs to be upgraded continuously if the workforce is to remain relevant and employable. Hence looking at the current and the upcoming demand of skilled force, you should get skilled trained to start earning, become eligible for better jobs, build a career and improve your current lifestyle.

Rural youth from poor families in the age group of 15 to 35 years, (relaxed for categories stated in FAQ 8). While DDU-GKY aims for Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP) as the aspired process for inducting needy candidates, interim any of the following will ensure eligibility into DDU-GKY sponsored skill training programs:

• Ownership of/ inclusion in BPL Cards
• Ownership of/ inclusion in BPL PDS Cards (also called Antyodaya Anna Yojana in some states)
• Ownership of/ inclusion in RSBY Card (RashtriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana)
• Family members of SHG members of a registered SHG in the village
• Family members of paid workers under the MGNREGS with a minimum of 15 days of work in the last 12 months

Further, to promote social inclusion, DDU-GKY insists on mandatory coverage of socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST 50%, Minority 15%, Women 33%) and 3% for Persons with Different Abilities (PwDs) through reservations/ earmarked funds in every project.

Yes, the upper-age limit for women candidates, and candidates belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), Transgender and other Special Groups like rehabilitated bonded labour, victims of trafficking, manual scavengers, trans-genders, HIV positive persons, etc. shall be extended by 10 years to 45 years.