A parliamentary committee has expressed concern over the gap between training and employment outcomes under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), recommending stronger placement tracking, enhanced post-placement support, and the creation of district-level placement cells to improve long-term livelihood outcomes for rural youth.

As of March 2026, 18.38 lakh rural youth have been trained under DDU-GKY, with 11.94 lakh placed in jobs, including 576 foreign placements. The scheme covers 37 sectors and 816 trades. Women account for 9.65 lakh of those trained and 6.03 lakh of those placed in jobs (nearly 50%).

Inadequate wages

The Standing Committee on Rural Development, headed by Congress Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Ulaka, in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), noted that a significant number of candidates trained under DDU-GKY were not securing employment, while those who found jobs often received low salaries. It said inadequate wages and support mechanisms were contributing to high dropout rates and distress migration among rural workers.

The scheme had an approved budget of ₹10,114.53 crore between 2021 and 2026. The revised estimate for this period stood at ₹1,161.99 crore, against which the actual expenditure was ₹977.74 crore, leaving ₹184.25 crore unspent against the revised allocation.

Ministry officials told the committee that the gap stemmed from COVID-19 disruptions between 2020-21 and 2022-23, which delayed project approvals. Most projects were approved only in 2023-24, so expenditure will be reflected in the coming years, they added.

The committee has directed the government to ensure near “100% placement tracking as far as possible, with mandatory industry linkages, localised placement drives, regular post-training follow-ups, mentorship and credit facilitation”. “Enhanced post-placement support, including extended migration assistance, retention monitoring, skill upgradation and raising minimum wage employment targets should be institutionalised,” the panel said.

The committee further said that the performance of Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) should not be judged solely on the basis of initial placements. Instead, agencies should be assessed on sustained employment and retention of beneficiaries to ensure durable livelihood outcomes.

On poor fund utilisation

The panel also raised concerns about the under-utilisation of funds across major rural livelihood and skilling schemes, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs), during the period 2021-26.

In the case of DAY-NRLM, ₹119.06 crore was unspent, and in the case of RSETIs, ₹28.21 crore was left unutilised. Delays in fund release and other implementation bottlenecks, the report noted, had adversely affected programme performance.

Under the RSETI scheme, which supports self-employment, 61.45 lakh people have been trained and 44.9 lakh settled in enterprises since 2009. Credit linkage has reached over 23.5 lakh beneficiaries. Women make up about 71% of those trained.

Published - August 11, 2026 06:48 pm IST