THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, NOVEMBER 12, 2026

Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) has stepped up efforts to strengthen the implementation of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0, with a renewed focus on equipping rural youth with industry-relevant skills and expanding employment opportunities across the State.

A two-day State-Level Capacity Building Programme on DDU-GKY 2.0 was inaugurated here on Thursday by Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik, who called for coordinated efforts to ensure that rural youth are equipped with the skills needed to access emerging employment opportunities.

Organised by ORMAS under the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department, the programme aims to strengthen institutional capacities, improve programme delivery and ensure better employment outcomes for rural youth.

Addressing the inaugural session, Naik said skill development and employment generation were crucial to realising the vision of Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit Bharat 2047. Describing the youth of Odisha as the State's greatest strength, he emphasised the need to provide them with industry-oriented training and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

He also underlined the immense potential of young people from tribal, KBK, Aspirational and Western Odisha districts and called for strengthening skilling initiatives to ensure that they benefit from emerging job opportunities across key growth sectors.

In her welcome address, ORMAS CEO Dr Monica Priyadarshini highlighted the State's achievements under DDU-GKY and reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to strengthening rural livelihoods through quality skill development programmes and industry partnerships.

She said nearly 2.10 lakh rural youth had been trained and more than 1.23 lakh candidates had secured employment in various sectors since the inception of the programme, reflecting its significant contribution towards enhancing livelihood opportunities in rural Odisha.

Under the ongoing phase, Odisha has been assigned a target of training 62,050 rural youth during 2025-2028, with an approved financial outlay of nearly Rs 750 crore. As many as 115 projects have already been sanctioned under the programme.

Priyadarshini stressed that the focus must now shift towards ensuring quality training delivery, timely execution of projects and meaningful employment outcomes, so that rural youth can secure sustainable career opportunities.

The inaugural session witnessed participation from senior officials of the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), representatives of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS), National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), and ORMAS officials associated with DDU-GKY implementation and monitoring.

Representatives of Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs), technical experts and programme functionaries from across Odisha also attended the programme.

During the two-day capacity-building initiative, experts from MoRD, NIC, NABCONS, NIRDPR and the Technical Support Agency (TSA) team of Grant Thornton Bharat LLP will conduct technical sessions on DDU-GKY 2.0 guidelines, the Unified IT Platform, project management, mobilisation of trainees, placement tracking, financial procedures and monitoring mechanisms.

The initiative is expected to enhance the implementation capacity of stakeholders, strengthen coordination among implementing agencies and ensure effective execution of DDU-GKY 2.0 across Odisha.