Over 14 lakh youth have been trained under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) so far, of whom around 60 per cent have been employed by various organisations, government data showed.
According to data compiled by the Rural Development Ministry, out of the around 14.51 lakh trained candidates, 8.70 lakh have got placed so far.
Among states where the youth benefitted from the Central scheme, Odisha tops the chart with 2.10 lakh job seekers trained and 1.68 lakh placed.
Uttar Pradesh has trained 1.84 lakh youth, of whom 47,000 have found employment opportunities. Andhra Pradesh has provided training to 1.04 lakh candidates, and over 87,000 have got placed.
A total Rs 7,015.61 crore was released under the scheme in April, the data showed.
DDU-GKY, which was launched in September 2014, is currently being implemented in 27 states and four Union territories for youth from rural and poor families, with an emphasis on placements.
Under the scheme, over 877 project implementation agencies (PIA) are training the rural youth across 37 sectors and 616 job roles through more than 2,369 training centres.
It prioritises the most marginalised sections of society, mandating coverage of socially disadvantaged groups -- 50 per cent for SC/ST, 15 per cent for minorities, and 33 per cent for women.
The scheme also extends a special focus to manual scavengers, persons with disabilities, and women-headed households.