Shillong, Oct 5: A national level regional workshop on Integrated Kaushal Rural Portal under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) 2.0 was held on Monday at the State Convention Centre.
The workshop was chaired by Joint Secretary (Skills), Ministry of Rural Development Jayasree M.G., and brought together officials from MoRD, NIC, Central Technical Support Agencies and representatives from nine State Rural Livelihood Missions – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal, along with project implementing agencies.
Addressing the gathering, Jayasree said the core objective of DDU-GKY 2.0 is to provide rural youth quality training linked to sustainable employment. She stressed strict compliance with SOPs, timely target allocation and removal of implementation delays, noting the scheme is placement-linked and payment release is linked to placement outcomes.
State C&RD Minister Sosthenes Sohtun said the portal should function as a dynamic tool for identifying delays, tracking dropouts and addressing placement bottlenecks in real time, not merely as a reporting platform. He called for greater focus on future-ready skills including AI, Aviation and Management alongside Hospitality, Healthcare, Beauty and Textiles.
C&RD Secretary SC Sadhu urged agencies to sensitise youth to explore employment outside their states for wider exposure, noting apprehensions about moving outside home state can limit opportunities.
The workshop focused on strengthening implementation through digital monitoring, covering mobilisation and selection, training infrastructure, assessment and certification, placement and tracking, and fund release, with live demonstrations of the portal by NIC and MoRD.
