Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

The government of India has launched many schemes with the aim of welfare. The directive principles of state policy ( DPSP) have suggested the government gradually turn this nation into a welfare state. The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana is one of those steps taken by the government lately. This aim focuses on the development of rural areas. This scheme is sponsored by the central government. It was launched in 2014.

What is Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (Ddu-Gky)

This scheme is a step taken in the national rural livelihood mission (NRLM). The NRLM seeks to make the rural economy self-reliant and resilient to external shocks. The major aims of this scheme are :

1. To increase the diversification of occupation and thus generate multiple sources of income for the families living in rural areas. This scheme primarily focuses on poor and below-the-poverty-line ( BPL ) families in rural areas. The increasing urban migration and the decreasing resilience of the rural poor is the main cause of the introduction of this scheme. 
2. This scheme also seeks to guide the youth of rural India to better employment. This scheme tries to facilitate the reach of diverse career options in rural areas. Alumni meets are one of the key highlights of this scheme. Alumni meets benefit the student by solving their doubts regarding better career options and by providing them with information about eligibility and skills needed for those careers.

The primary beneficiaries of this scheme are rural youth between the age of 15 to 35 years of age. This scheme is an important step taken in ensuring the socio-economic development of the rural poor of India. This is a supportive scheme of the already existing schemes of the union government, for example, Digital India, Make In India, and stand up India. The ministry of rural development under the Government of India sponsor and maintain this scheme. The origin of this scheme can be seen in the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana ( SGSY) of 2004.

Importance of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (Ddu-Gky)

• The significance of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana is wide-ranging as it seeks to provide support to the rural economy of the nation. The positive spillover effects of this scheme are very impressive. A significant part of the population of our country lives in rural areas. Thus this demographic division provides this scheme a responsibility of catering career-related guidance to the youth of our nation who are unskilled and poor.
• This scheme played a significant role in the context of ‘Atmanirbar Bharat’ by providing skills to the people of this country. Make in India and other such schemes are also strengthened by this scheme. For rural development, this scheme also provides for the integrated farming model. DDU – GKY plays an important role in decreasing income inequality in the country by providing skills to the youth.
• The DDU–GKY grants findings to privately owned educational institutions and other skill training experts to initiate more advanced, modern, and well–equipped training centers for providing training to the unskilled youth of rural India.

In these institutions, well-qualified experts will teach and train the youth the knowledge and skills for their employment purposes. This training would be completely job oriented thus ensuring a skilled workforce for this developing nation. The coverage skills being taught cover computer training, languages, and other life skills. After the completion of the training, the students will get a certificate of skill under the DDU -GKY scheme. The training institutes will also help in providing the placements to the trainees. This whole training will be free of cost. Along with this, the trainees will also be provided with books, uniforms, and other equipment such as tablets and study materials to supplement their training. This incentive will attract people to take training in the institutes. In the case of residential training centers the trainees will also be provided with food and accommodation free of cost.

Eligibility Criteria for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (Ddu-Gky)

The DDU–GKY is not open for all schemes. As it is launched with the aim of providing socio-economic rights to the citizens it has some eligibility criteria as well. This scheme is only for the rural youth of the country. The age of such a person must not be less than 15 and must not be more than 35. However, there is an age relaxation for women and candidates of SC / ST. They can avail the benefits of the scheme till the age of 45 years. He must be a below-poverty-line cardholder. Or a BPL – public distribution scheme card. Or a certificate card of rashtriya swasthya Bima Yojana. Or any of these.

Implementation Model of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (Ddu-Gky)

This scheme is based on a three-tier model:

1. The apex point of this scheme is the ministry of rural development. The provision of a National unit of DDU–GKY is made there for the purpose of making policies and advertising about the scheme and giving such technical support so as to make this scheme viable and far-reaching. 
2. Below the National Units, there is a provision for state Missions. These state missions are controlled by the state governments. The aim of this provision is the facilitation and effective implementation of this scheme at the state level. The state government will be responsible for providing the reports of this scheme to the national Units in the rural development ministry. 
3. At the very grass root level and the 3rd tier of our implementation model, we have Project Implementation Agencies ( PIAs). These agencies have the responsibility of implementation by providing skills and training to the candidates. It ensures the working of the training institutes and the competence of the trainers and experts.

Conclusion

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU – GKY) is an important step by the government of India. In making the nation more equal in terms of the socio-economic status of citizens. The main objective of the scheme is to make people more skilled. The target beneficiaries of this scheme are rural youth of poor families.

FAQs

Q1. What is the aim of the Deen Dayal Upadhyay rural Kaushalya Plan?

Ans: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) aims to skill rural youth who are poor. and provide them with jobs having regular monthly wages or above the minimum wage.

Q2. Who is eligible for DDU-GKY?

Ans: All candidates who belong to poor families, and are between the ages of 15 and 35 years, are eligible for the training programs. For women and persons with disabilities, the upper age limit is relaxed to 45 years.

Q3. When did the scheme start?

Ans: It was launched in 2014.