Ministry of Rural Development to Launch DDU-GKY 2.0 Training Batches from October 2026
Rural youth will receive skill training under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0 starting October 2026 to boost employment opportunities.
The Ministry of Rural Development is set to launch training batches under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0 across most states and union territories starting in October 2026. The primary objective of this scheme is to provide employment-linked skill training to rural poor youth, with training durations ranging from 3 to 12 months.
In the first phase of preparations, 14 states and union territories have been included, namely Odisha, Mizoram, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Karnataka, Telangana, and Bihar. The target is to train a total of 3,57,112 rural youth in these regions by December 31, 2027, with 34,920 youth beginning their training through 1,164 batches in October 2026.
According to data from the DDU-GKY 2.0 portal, targets for 5.6 lakh candidates have already been allocated for more than 1,200 projects across 24 states and union territories. Targets for the two-year period of 2026-28 have been assigned to a total of 31 partner states and union territories. The Ministry has urged states to ensure that training commences by allocating targets to Project Implementation Agencies (PIA) by October 31, 2026.
An integrated DDU-GKY 2.0 portal has been developed to ensure transparency and digital monitoring of the project. States have been advised to complete the integration of state treasury portals by September 30, 2026, to facilitate online payments.
To familiarize Project Implementation Agencies (PIA) with the digital platform, the Ministry will organize regional workshops in hybrid mode at four locations in October 2026. These workshops will take place in Shillong (October 5), Vijayawada (October 7), Mumbai (October 9), and Dharamshala (October 16). The aim of these workshops is to provide information on the portal's functioning and resolve implementation-related issues.
The entire scheme was reviewed through a video conferencing meeting attended by the Joint Secretary (Skills), Director (Skills), CEO, COO, and other state officials. The meeting also indicated that expenditure on the scheme is expected to increase as training batches begin in October 2026.
