Around 620 Kendras nationwide channel rural and non-student youth into clubs, camps, sports, and volunteering.
18.9% of young men in Kalahandi read a newspaper regularly, behind the typical district. 43.9% use the internet, behind the typical district. MY Bharat and the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan build on this base to organise youth for civic and community participation.
80% of registered enterprises are in services while 20% are in manufacturing. Only 3% of employment is in small and medium enterprises. 77% of school-age children are enrolled in higher secondary school (classes 9–12).
In Kalahandi, which ranks 27 of 30 in Odisha for youth opportunity, the overall opportunity score is 41.3 out of 100. The district runs ahead of the national picture on young people in the labour force aged 15 to 29 at 71.5%, while it lags on women who read a newspaper regularly at 5.7%, women using the internet at 16.4% and higher-education enrolment at 11.7%.