New Delhi, Apr 15 (IANS): Around 10.81 lakh candidates have been trained in 56 sectors and 600 trades under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), a nationwide placement-linked skill training programme funded by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, while around 6.92 lakh tradined candidates have been placed, said an official statement on Thursday.

With an ambitious agenda to benchmark wage placement-linked programme to global standards, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) had revamped the placement linked skill development programme under the National Rural Livelihood Mission as DDU-GKY on September 25, 2014.

The programme is currently being implemented in 27 states and 3 UTs and has over 2,198 training centres in 1,822 projects, in partnership with 839 project implementing agencies conducting training across 56 sectors, and over 600 job-roles, said the ministry.

During FY 2020-21, 28,687 candidates have been trained and 49,396 candidates have been placed till March 31 this year.

Since the inception of the scheme, a total of 10.81 lakh candidates have been trained in 56 sectors and 600 trades and 6.92 lakh were placed till March 31, 2021, as per the statement.

Alumni meet is an important component of the scheme as it provides healthy ground for experience sharing by the former trainees with their present counterparts on topics like placements, career goals, challenges they faced in finding employment before undertaking the trainings and the benefits they reaped after, said the statement.