Page 1 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 09
August 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 55
Impact of DDU-GKY among Rural Unemployed Youths in Punjab:
A Case from Amritsar District
Dr. Shankar Chatterjee
Former Prof & Head (CPME) NIRD &PR, Hyderabad-500 030, Telangana, India
E-mail: shankarjagu@gmail.com
Abstract
Punjab has made considerable economic
progress after Independence despite it
suffered in 1947. It contributes nearly 2/3rd
to the total production of food grains and
1/3rd of milk production in the country. It is
the leading producer of wheat also. The
initiative of Green Revolution was
enthusiastically taken forward by the
farmers of Punjab. In spite of all these
positive notes, the State has been suffering
serious unemployment issue particularly in
rural areas. According to the Labour
Bureau Statistics in Punjab the
unemployment rate among the youth
(proportion of the labour force between 18
and 29 years i.e. unemployed rate) was 16.6
percent while the Indian average was 10.2
percent in 2015-16. Punjab also had India’s
eighth-highest rural youth unemployment
rate. So the role played by Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
(DDU-GKY) is praiseworthy as many youths
are settled through wage employment after
training. In this research article, a case of
DDU-GKY from Amritsar district is
presented. The data were collected while
visiting the district in the first week of
August 2017. The case, focused on Orion
Edutech which is one of the Programme
Implementing Agencies (PIAs) i.e. training
and placements are arranged by them, is
presented here.
Key words: Amritsar, DDU-GKY,
Punjab, Rural and Unemployment.
.
Punjab has made considerable economic
progress after Independence despite it
suffered in 1947. It contributes nearly two
thirds to the total production of food grains
and a third of milk production in the
country. It is the leading producer of wheat,
thereby contributing to the national food
security. The initiative of Green Revolution
was enthusiastically taken forward by the
people of Punjab. Punjab is considered to
have the best infrastructure in India; this
includes road, rail, air and river transport
links that are extensive throughout the
region. Punjab also has the lowest poverty
rate in India and has won the best state
performance award. According to 2011
Census of India, the total Population of
Punjab was 2.77 crore. The decadal growth
of population from 2001 to 2011 was 13.89
percent (punjab.gov.in/13 August 2017). In
spite of all positive notes, the State at
present has been suffering serious
unemployment issue particularly in rural
areas.
Page 2 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 09
August 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 56
According to the Labour Bureau
statistics in Punjab, the unemployment rate
among the youth- proportion of the labour
force between 18 and 29 years i.e.
unemployed rate - was 16.6 percent while
the Indian average was 10.2 percent in 2015-
16. Punjab also had India’s eighth-highest
rural youth unemployment rate. And
according to the Fifth Annual Employment- Unemployment Survey (2015-16), Ministry
of Labour and Employment, Government of
India the unemployment rate in Punjab was
60 and in rural area the same was 59 against
urban figure of 62 which may be seen from
the table-1.
.Table: 1 Unemployment Rates 2015-16 (per 1000)
Rank State Total Urban Rural
1 Tripura 197 172 203
2 Sikkim 181 168 184
3 Kerala 125 126 125
4 Himachal Pradesh 106 23 117
5 Goa 96 58 150
6 Arunachal Pradesh 89 52 93
7 Nagaland 85 141 69
8 Jharkhand 77 94 73
9 Uttar Pradesh 74 67 76
10 Jammu and Kashmir 72 36 83
11 Rajasthan 71 43 77
12 Uttarakhand 70 32 81
13 Assam 61 101 55
14 Bihar 60 74 59
14 Punjab 60 62 59
16 Manipur 57 70 49
17 Odisha 50 47 51
India 50 49 51
18 Telengana 49 56 47
19 Meghalaya 48 134 28
20 Haryana 47 39 53
21 Madhya Pradesh 43 40 44
22 Tamil Nadu 42 36 45
23 Andhra Pradesh 39 44 38
24 Mizoram 30 49 15
25 West Bengal 28 62 13
26 Maharashtra 21 23 20
27 Chhattisgarh 19 68 11
28 Karnataka 15 19 13
Page 3 of 9
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 09
August 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 57
29 Gujarat 9 7 10
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_states_ranked_by_unemployment/13 August
2017 but main source is the Report on Fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey
(2015-16), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
Although the table is self explanatory but
the points to be noted are Tripura has the
highest unemployment rate, while Gujarat
has the least unemployment rate among the
states of India as higher ranks represents
higher unemployment among the
population. While considering the states
having better performance meaning, less
unemployment rate than national average of
50, it is observed that Punjab is not better
placed as in the list Punjab even does not
stand in between 18 and 29. Rather rural
unemployment is very high and rate is equal
to Bihar and also higher than Assam and
Manipur. We know Assam and Manipur had
insurgency problem at high level once upon
a time inter alia because of unemployment.
In view of this the Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
(DDU-GKY) is having tremendous scope in
Punjab. Interestingly while discussing with
the villagers and the officials of rural
development department in Amritsar all in
unison informed that in case of Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in many
places of rural Punjab local laborers are not
available in the existing wage rate as market
rate is much higher. Even the local guide
Harpreet Singh Happy of Wadala Johal
village of Amritsar who was for a short
period in army emphasized the same, as he
hails from rural area and widely travelled in
many villages of Punjab. On the other hand,
rural youths who have at least passed out
school examination are interested for wage
employment like DDU-GKY.
About Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU- GKY):
The Ministry of Rural Development
(MoRD) announced the Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana
(DDU-GKY) on 25th September 2014.
DDU-GKY is a part of the Deen Dayal
Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural
Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM). DDU- GKY launched with the objective of
providing wage employment to the trained
youths who mainly hails from Below
