Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana or DDUGKY was introduced on 25 September 2014 by Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari. This is an employment scheme launched by Indian government on 98th birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. It is the skill training and placement programme that aims to target youth under the age group of 15–35 years. Mainly aiming to train the young people of rural areas, which are poor and provide them with jobs with a regular monthly wages, this programme is run under the guidance of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). This programme laid special emphasis on the sustainable development of rural youth through the provision and incentives. Also, they are provided incentives by placement tracking, retention and career progression. Seeking to promote rural livelihoods, this programme is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM)-for poverty reduction called Aajeevika.

3-tier implementation model is followed by DDUGKY. Policy-making, technical support and facilitation agency, all these functions are performed by MoRD, whereas the state missions provide implementation support. Apart from that, the project implementing agencies (PIAs) execute the yojana through placement projects.

Features of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) :