DDU-GKY 2.0 to Train 70,000 Rural Youth from October 2026

The Ministry of Rural Development is preparing to open the first large wave of training batches under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya - Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0. Classes are expected to begin across most States and Union Territories from October 2026, and the ministry has asked the States to keep to the timetable.

The numbers behind the rollout

Around 70,000 rural youth are expected to start training in October 2026, spread over 2,015 batches in 24 States and Union Territories. Those same 24 States and Union Territories have already handed out targets of 5.6 lakh to Project Implementation Agencies, or PIAs, covering over 1,200 projects, and the ministry says the remaining States are close to finishing their own allocations. The figures come from the scheme's portal at kaushal.rural.gov.in.

What the scheme is

DDU-GKY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, which means the Union government funds it with the States sharing in the cost and running it on the ground. Its purpose is placement-linked skill training for poor rural young people, and a course under it can run for anything between 3 months and 12 months. Training is delivered in public-private partnership mode, and the courses have to be aligned with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) so that the certificate a trainee earns carries recognised value in the job market.

Targets for the two-year cycle

For the two-year stretch of 2026-28, all 31 participating States and Union Territories have been given targets adding up to more than 9 lakh. States have to bring rural youth into the programme and arrange the training in trades for which there is actual demand, the idea being that a trainee stays employed rather than merely completing a course.

The deadline States must meet

The ministry has pressed the States to move faster in giving targets to the implementing agencies, and has set 31 October 2026 as the outer limit by which those allocations must be done so that training can begin. Review meetings with States and Union Territories are being held in phases to keep the process moving.