Now Reading: 6 lakh rural youth jobless despite DDU-GKY training, panel says
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6 lakh rural youth jobless despite DDU-GKY training, panel says
A parliamentary panel has flagged that the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) trained 18.38 lakh rural youth but placed only 11.94 lakh, leaving nearly 6 lakh without jobs. The government…
The Story in Brief
A parliamentary panel has flagged that the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) trained 18.38 lakh rural youth but placed only 11.94 lakh, leaving nearly 6 lakh without jobs. The government admitted a 65% placement ratio, short of the 70% target. The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, led by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, noted that low post-placement salaries and high dropout rates contribute to distress migration.
State-wise performance varied widely: Tamil Nadu placed 95.3%, while Uttar Pradesh managed only 43%. Women accounted for 52.5% of trainees but their placement rate lagged. The government introduced DDU-GKY 2.0 from April 2025, doubling the minimum placement period to six months and allowing self-employment and gig work. The panel recommended 100% placement tracking and green skills integration.
The Indian Opinion
The 65% placement figure stirs two lazy narratives: one calling the scheme a complete failure, another defending it as adequate given broader job scarcity. Both miss the point. The scheme's real test is not just initial placement but retention and salary growth, the panel's own evaluation showed average monthly salary at Rs 16,500, barely above minimum wage in many states. The new six-month minimum placement rule is a welcome check. The question is: will milestone-based funding force training providers to focus on quality, or will they simply game the new targets?
Sources (3): economictimes.indiatimes.com, hindustantimes.com, livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
