UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Candidates trained under rural skilling programme not getting jobs, says panel
Q1. Consider the following statements regarding rural skilling and livelihood programmes and their institutional placement:
1. DDU-GKY is implemented under the umbrella of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission by the Ministry of Rural Development.
2. Rural Self Employment Training Institutes, though sponsored by banks, are anchored in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
3. DAY-NRLM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development implemented through State Rural Livelihoods Missions.
4. The 'Captive Employment' initiative, under which employers both train and absorb rural poor youth, is a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly stated?
- DDU-GKY is implemented under the umbrella of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission by the Ministry of Rural Development.
- Rural Self Employment Training Institutes, though sponsored by banks, are anchored in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- DAY-NRLM is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development implemented through State Rural Livelihoods Missions.
- The 'Captive Employment' initiative, under which employers both train and absorb rural poor youth, is a component of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q2. The Ministry of Rural Development announced the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana on which one of the following occasions?
- A. Gramodaya Diwas, observed on 2 October 2014
- B. Panchayati Raj Diwas, observed on 24 April 2015
- C. Antyodaya Diwas, observed on 25 September 2014
- D. Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, observed on 31 October 2014
Q3. Under DDU-GKY norms as stated in the Department of Rural Development's year-end review for 2025, the scheme's placement mandate is disaggregated by mode of employment. Which one of the following correctly states that disaggregation?
- A. At least 70% of trained candidates in wage employment, with self-employment capped at 30% of placements
- B. At least 33% of trained candidates in wage employment, with self-employment capped at 50% of placements
- C. At least 60% of trained candidates in wage employment, with self-employment capped at 40% of placements
- D. At least 50% of trained candidates in wage employment, with self-employment capped at 20% of placements
Q4. Consider the following statements about the mandatory social inclusion norms prescribed under DDU-GKY:
1. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes together — 50%.
2. Minorities — 15%.
3. Women — 25%.
4. Persons with Disabilities — 15%.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly stated?
- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes together — 50%.
- Minorities — 15%.
- Women — 25%.
- Persons with Disabilities — 15%.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 2, 3 and 4
Q5. Consider the following statements about the 40th Report on rural skilling presented to Parliament in August 2026:
1. It is titled "Rural Skilling and Migration: Impact Study of DDU-GKY, DAY-NRLM and RSETIs".
2. It was presented in the Lok Sabha in August 2026 under the chairship of Saptagiri Ulaka.
3. It was prepared by the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development.
4. It found that a significant number of DDU-GKY-trained candidates remained unplaced and that those placed often drew low salaries.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- It is titled "Rural Skilling and Migration: Impact Study of DDU-GKY, DAY-NRLM and RSETIs".
- It was presented in the Lok Sabha in August 2026 under the chairship of Saptagiri Ulaka.
- It was prepared by the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development.
- It found that a significant number of DDU-GKY-trained candidates remained unplaced and that those placed often drew low salaries.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 1, 2 and 4
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 3 only
Q6. With reference to the parliamentary committee that presented the 40th Report on rural skilling and migration in August 2026, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. It is a constitutional body constituted under Article 118 of the Constitution, and its recommendations are binding on the Ministry of Rural Development
- B. It is a departmentally-related standing committee attached to the Ministry of Rural Development, and its recommendations are advisory in nature
- C. It is a Joint Parliamentary Committee constituted for the entire term of a Lok Sabha, with members drawn exclusively from the Rajya Sabha
- D. It is a financial committee of Parliament whose entire membership is elected annually by the Lok Sabha alone, and which necessarily examines all appropriation accounts
Q7. Consider the following measures in the context of the 2026 parliamentary report on rural skilling and migration:
1. Tracking of placed candidates approaching 100%, with post-training follow-up.
2. Mandatory linkages with industry and localised placement drives.
3. Complete abolition of Project Implementation Agencies and their replacement by a single centralised national placement portal.
4. Mentorship support and credit facilitation for trained candidates.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as recommendations of the Committee?
- Tracking of placed candidates approaching 100%, with post-training follow-up.
- Mandatory linkages with industry and localised placement drives.
- Complete abolition of Project Implementation Agencies and their replacement by a single centralised national placement portal.
- Mentorship support and credit facilitation for trained candidates.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q8. The Committee's call for higher wage outcomes for placed DDU-GKY candidates seeks to raise the bar above which existing scheme norm on salaries?
- A. Placements must carry a salary of at least Rs 10,000 per month for every candidate trained under the scheme
- B. Placements must carry a salary at least equal to the National Floor Level Wage notified each year by NITI Aayog
- C. Placements must carry wages equal to or above the applicable statutory minimum wages for the trade concerned
- D. Placements must carry wages equal to or above the unskilled wage rate notified for that State under MGNREGS
Q9. As per the Department of Rural Development's year-end review for 2025, how many Rural Self Employment Training Institutes were functional, and across how many districts?
- A. 606 institutes across 616 districts
- B. 625 institutes across 612 districts
- C. 632 institutes across 619 districts
- D. 585 institutes across 600 districts
Q10. The RSETI programme is operationalised as a partnership among which one of the following sets of entities?
- A. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the National Skill Development Corporation and the State Skill Development Missions
- B. The Ministry of Rural Development, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the District Panchayats
- C. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the State Governments and the sponsor banks of each district
- D. The Ministry of Rural Development, the State Governments and the sponsor banks of each district
Q11. Which one of the following correctly describes the beneficiary class that DDU-GKY is designed to cover?
- A. Rural youth aged 18 to 50 years from Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya families, given free short-term residential training with boarding and lodging
- B. Rural youth aged 15 to 35 years from poor families, the upper limit being relaxed to 45 years for women and specified vulnerable groups
- C. Rural youth aged 18 to 35 years from households identified through Socio-Economic and Caste Census deprivation criteria, with no relaxation of the upper limit
- D. Rural youth aged 15 to 29 years from poor families who are members of Self-Help Groups affiliated to a Cluster Level Federation
Q12. In the Committee's analysis of why the training-to-employment shortfall matters, 'distress migration' is best understood as which one of the following?
- A. Movement of rural workers to towns and cities compelled by the absence of remunerative local livelihoods rather than drawn by better prospects
- B. Seasonal movement of cultivating households between two holdings they own within the same district during the harvest season
- C. Return movement of workers from cities to their native villages following the loss of formal sector employment there
- D. Movement of trained candidates to overseas jobs, counted separately in the scheme's foreign placement figures