Antyodaya Diwas – September 25

Antyodaya Diwas is observed in India on 25th September to celebrate the birthday of late Shree Deendayal Upadhyaya. The day was declared by the Modi Government on September 25, 2014, the 98th Birth Anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayak Upadhyaya.

On this day, the Rural Development Montry revamped its existing skill development program called Aajeevika Skills as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, which emphasized greater access, coverage, and quality.

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, was a noted philosopher, historian, and political activist. He was one of the most important leaders of the Bhartiya Jan Sangh from 1953 to 1968. To spread Hindutva idealogy he started the monthly publication Rashtra Dharma in the 1940s, while involved with the RSS. Integral humanism was a set of concepts drafted by Upadhyaya as a political program and adopted in 1965 as the official doctrine of Jan Sangh.

Upadhyaya was a great leader, whose ideals and principles are relevant even today. He played a very important role in uniting the citizens. Antyodaya means uplifting the weakest section of society. The spirit of Antyodaya Mission lies in “reaching out to the last person“.

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (1916-88)

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was a great philosopher, social reformer, organizer & scholar, who lived by his values of ‘Integral Humanism’. He was the coordinator and leader of the Jan Sangh, the Bharatiya Janata Party was born from the Jan Sangh itself.

He was a critic of both communism and capitalism. He advocated unified humanity, including ethics in politics and a human-centered approach in economics. He supported indigenous and small-scale industrialization. He was a supporter of nationalist thought, he believed that blindly following western ideology is not proper for India.

He founded Rashtra Dharma Prakashan and the monthly magazine Rashtra Dharma. Later he started the weekly magazine Panchjanya and the daily magazine Swadesh. He composed the play Chandragupta Maurya in Hindi. Apart from this, he also wrote the biography of Shankaracharya.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) was launched on 25th September 2014 with the aim to transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce. DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to career aspirations.

It is a placement-linked skill development program that allows skilling in a PPP mode and assured placements in regular jobs in an organization not owned by the skilled person. The main feature of DDU-GKY is that it allows a person to get trained in courses and get placed in jobs that would suit their aptitude. After the completion of the training, they are offered with placements and facilities to become an entrepreneur.

The scheme is the integration of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).

National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) is renamed as Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-(DAY-NULM) and in Hindi as – Rashtriya Shahri Aajeevika Mission. Under the scheme urban areas extends the coverage to all the 4041 statutory cities and towns, thereby covering almost the entire urban population. Currently, all the urban poverty alleviating programs covered only 790 towns and cities.

On this day several activities including blood donation camps, seminars, symposia are organized across the country. His life and his teachings are an inspiration for all of us to relentlessly strive for the development of our nation.

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