70,000 Rural Youth to Begin Skill Training Under DDU-GKY 2.0 Across States/UTs from October 2026

The Ministry of Rural Development is rolling out Deen Dayal Upadhyaya- Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0 training batches across most States and UTs starting October 2026. Under the scheme, which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme providing placement-linked skill training to poor rural youth with durations ranging from 3 to 12 months, over 9 lakh targets have been allocated to 31 participating States and UTs for the 2026-28 period. According to the DDU-GKY 2.0 portal, 24 States and UTs have allocated 5.6 lakh targets towards more than 1,200 projects to Project Implementation Agencies, with around 70,000 rural youth expected to begin training across 2,015 batches in October 2026.