A third of skilling scheme trainees remain unplaced
The panel also questioned the performance of the RSETIs, under which only 4.5 million of 6.2 million trained beneficiaries had been “settled” in self-employment.
A parliamentary committee has revealed that nearly one-third of trainees in the Union government's rural skilling program, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), remain unplaced in employment. Over 1.8 million rural youth have been trained since the program's launch in 2014, but only 1.2 million have secured reported placements.
The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj questioned the ministry on the low placement rate, attributing part of the decline to changes introduced in the revamped DDU-GKY 2.0 scheme, which came into effect in April 2025. The new scheme doubled the minimum job duration for placement eligibility and expanded eligible outcomes to include self-employment and gig work, among other changes.
Tamil Nadu led the states in placement rate at 95.3%, while Uttar Pradesh had the lowest at 43%. Women constituted 52.5% of all DDU-GKY trainees, but their employment rate fell slightly compared to male trainees. Experts cautioned against assuming that skills training alone leads to employment, emphasizing the importance of employment opportunities.
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