DDU-GKY 2.0 Rollout: 14 States Including Odisha Selected for First-Phase Skill Batches in October

19 Sep 2026, 10:09 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Odisha: Tens of thousands of young people across India’s rural heartland will enter vocational classrooms next month, marking the practical debut of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana 2.0.

Under the initial rollout scheduled for October 2026, 1,164 training cohorts comprising 34,920 candidates will launch across 14 states and Union Territories: Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Puducherry.

The immediate intake represents the leading edge of a broader mandate. Within this first group of 14 administrations, the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned a cumulative target to train 3,57,112 underprivileged rural candidates by December 31, 2027.

The initiative operates as a centrally sponsored programme that pairs market-calibrated skill instruction—spanning durations of 3 months to 12 months—directly with guaranteed employment placement.

Target distributions for the overarching two-year cycle spanning 2026 to 2028 have already been issued to all 31 participating states and Union Territories. Across the country, regional authorities have assigned more than 5 lakh candidate slots to Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs) to mobilize eligible talent, enabling the majority of jurisdictions to open mobilization and instructional drives in October.

According to tracking data on the DDU-GKY 2.0 integrated digital portal, 24 states and Union Territories have formally assigned 5.6 lakh targets tied to upwards of 1,200 individual projects, while remaining regions finalize their respective quotas.

State-level execution was evaluated during a high-level video conference led by the Joint Secretary (Skills) and the Director (Skills) alongside state chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and administrative officials.

The ministry conveyed to state leaders that the programme has entered a pivotal delivery window. State and Union Territory administrations were urged to fast-track remaining project assignments to operating partners so training can launch on schedule, establishing October 31, 2026, as the firm deadline to complete all target allocations to PIAs.

Officials also scrutinized fiscal mechanisms, noting that operational expenditure across states is slated to climb sharply once physical classes get underway in October.

A central focus of the administrative review centered on back-end digital readiness. The ministry designed the DDU-GKY 2.0 Integrated Portal to supervise the complete project life cycle, aiming to heighten operational transparency and real-time oversight.

To prevent bottlenecks in funding disbursement, the Centre instructed regional governments to finalize integration between the central platform and local State Treasury Portals by September 30, 2026, enabling seamless digital payments through the Grameen Kaushal Portal.

To train project operators on the upgraded software architecture and resolve ground-level bottlenecks, the ministry will conduct four hybrid regional workshops next month. Implementing agencies will assemble in Shillong on October 5, Vijayawada on October 7, Mumbai on October 9, and Dharamshala on October 16, with participating state administrations directed to ensure key partner personnel attend the sessions in person. Additional phased administrative reviews will follow to keep class launches on track across the country.