This document summarizes the Indian Ministry of Rural Development's initiatives for skill upgradation of women in rural and tribal areas, as outlined in Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3714, answered on August 12, 2025. The Ministry addresses this through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) which includes two centrally sponsored schemes: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs). DDU-GKY is a placement-linked skill development program for rural poor youth aged 15-35, aiming to provide employment with regular monthly wages at or above minimum wage. DDU-GKY guidelines prioritize social inclusion, with targets of 50% SC/ST, 33% women, and 5% Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). RSETIs are bank-led training institutions funded by the Ministry of Rural Development, offering skill and entrepreneurship development training to unemployed youth aged 18-50. The Ministry provides financial support for RSETI building construction and training costs. As of June 2025, under DDU-GKY, 1.751 million candidates have been trained, with 905,000 (51.7%) being women. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development is Shri Kamlesh Paswan.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Rural Development: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for rural development.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAYNRLM): An umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development focused on poverty eradication through skill development and livelihoods enhancement.
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY): A placement-linked skill development program under DAY-NRLM targeting rural poor youth.
Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI): Training institutions funded by the Ministry of Rural Development and led by banks to provide skill and entrepreneurship development training.
Shri Ramesh Awasthi: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha.
Dr. Nishikant Dubey: Member of Parliament who raised a question in Lok Sabha.
Shri Kamlesh Paswan: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development who answered the question.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the question was raised.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3714
ANSWERED ON 12/08/2025
SKILL UPGRADATION OF WOMEN
3714. Shri Ramesh Awasthi:
Dr. Nishikant Dubey:
Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Ministry has formulated any scheme for skill
upgradation of women in rural and tribal areas;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) the number of women have been trained since the inception of
the DDU-GKY?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)
(a) & (b): Under the umbrella scheme of Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of
Rural Development is implementing the following two Centrally
Sponsored Schemes namely Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen
Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) & Rural Self Employment Training
Institutes (RSETI) in the field of skill development for rural poor youth
for their gainful employment with a view to eradicate poverty in the
country. A brief on the Schemes is given as under:
i. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY):
DDU-GKY is a placement-linked skill development program for rural
poor youth in the age group of 15-35 years. It empowers the rural poor
youth with employable skills and facilitates their participation in
regular labour markets, thus providing them with jobs having regular
monthly wages at or above the minimum wages. DDU-GKY guideline
provides social inclusion of SC/ST (50%), Women (33%), and PwDs
(5%).
ii. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs): RSETI is a
Bank lead - Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) funded training
Page 1 of 2institutions established by the Sponsoring Banks in their Districts, to
provide training for skill and entrepreneurship development. MoRD
extends financial support for the construction of RSETI building and
also bears the cost of training the 'rural poor' candidates. Any
unemployed youth in the age group of 18-50 years having an aptitude
to take up self-employment or wage employment can undergo
training at RSETI. Some of the trained candidates may also seek
regular salaried jobs / wage employment.
(c): Under DDU-GKY, a total of 17.51 lakh candidates have been
trained, out of which 9.05 lakh women (51.7%) have been
trained, since inception till June 2025.
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