Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana or DDU-GKY is a unique employment initiative taken up by the government of India. This initiative was launched in the year 2014 and along with a few other initiatives launched by the government of India. The main focus of these initiatives was to develop the skills for the rural youth of India so that they can use these skills to later find employment. It was launched under the Ministry of Rural Development. The aim of this initiative is to increase the employment rates in the rural areas of India. The rural parts of India often have a large population, especially of young and employable individuals. These individuals are driven, motivated and ambitious, but they lack the resources and knowledge to utilise their ambitions and turn them into employment opportunities. This is where the Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Grameen Kaushal  Yojana comes into action. This scheme aspires to tackle the issue of unemployment in rural areas by motivating and empowering the youth in rural areas so that they can go ahead and find employment opportunities. The aim is to help them find a job that provides them with a regular source of income that is higher than that of a daily wage worker. 

The target age group of this scheme is between the ages of 15-35 years. Due to a lack of resources available in rural areas, people belonging to this age group may not be able to find employment opportunities. This fact exists despite the fact that these young people often have a lot of motivation and drive to bring changes. The basic idea behind this scheme is to transform the youth into economically independent individuals. It is a part of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). 

India, as a country, has an urgent need to have a larger workforce. This scheme helps meet that need. This is done by providing young people with high-quality skill training. This training makes sure that the youth in rural areas acquire the skills that would later help them in finding employment opportunities. This serves a dual purpose. The youth would have access to a stable source of income, while also driving the economy of the country forward. This scheme aspires to train 55 million people in rural areas. 

Another important aim of the scheme is to add diversity to rural employment and to encourage rural youth to focus on having a good career. A certain amount is reserved for this initiative. The most important factor of this initiative is that it provides young people with a stable income. 

Missions and Principles

The most important mission of this initiative is to empower young people in rural areas to find sustainable employment opportunities and to give them access to regular incomes. 

• The demand for a workforce is extremely high, which is not often met with a supply. There is a large pool of talented young people in rural areas who can be employed, provided they are given the right skills and training. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of a workforce
• It aims to increase social mobilisation and the building of strong institutions to develop the workforce of India
• Provide counselling to the youth and their families
• Provide high-quality training to make sure that the youth are employable in both national and international jobs

The initiative follows strict guidelines when it comes to creating awareness in rural areas about these schemes and identifying the needs of the rural youth. They are also motivated to avail such schemes for a brighter future. 

It is also very important for the students to select the right courses or skills that they are interested in. Having an interest in the field helps one do better in their future careers. Once they are fully trained with the skills they are given all the support and guidance till they find employment. 

This scheme places a strong emphasis on the shift in paradigm between training to career progression in order to enable poor people to grow in their careers. The focus of this scheme is to make sure that the youth gets placed once they are completed with all of the training. 

One of the most unique features of this scheme is that there is a strong emphasis on social inclusion. 50% of the funds within this scheme are reserved for socially disadvantaged groups like SC/ST/OBC, while 15% is reserved for minorities and 3% for people with disabilities. 

AISECT has partnered with the scheme to provide training and placement opportunities for the same.