Thiruvananthapuram | The VACB on Monday launched a statewide raid following information about large-scale irregularities and corruption in the implementation of the DDU-GKY scheme in Kerala, officials said.

According to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), raids are being conducted at 62 locations, including 47 selected project implementing agencies across the state, the DDU-GKY state implementation office here, and 14 district implementation offices as part of the "Operation Skill Guard".

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) is a skill development scheme implemented by the Union Ministry of Rural Development to provide internationally recognised skill training to rural youth, enabling them to become self-reliant and secure employment.

Of the total project cost, 60 per cent is borne by the Centre and 40 per cent by the state government.

The projects are implemented through selected project implementing agencies, officials said.

The VACB officials said that they received information that certain agencies were misappropriating funds by claiming to have provided admissions without conducting formal training, and by producing fake salary certificates and bank statements to show that trainees had secured jobs after completing the course.

It was also alleged that officials at the district and state-level implementation offices, responsible for verifying and ensuring compliance, were colluding in these irregularities, officials said.

Further allegations include releasing funds to agencies that did not meet prescribed norms, sanctioning projects without verifying basic infrastructure at training centres, and some agencies falsely projecting their own staff as trainees to siphon off funds, the VACB said.

Based on these inputs, the VACB began a statewide surprise inspection named "Operation Skill Guard", officials added.