The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is set to unveil the eligibility criteria for the PM
Internship Scheme next week. This program targets students from economically weaker sections (EWS) with an annual income of less than ₹8 lakh. Only those enrolled in online courses and vocational training programs will qualify for the internships.
Dedicated Implementation Team
A specialised team has been established by the MCA to ensure the successful implementation of the internship scheme. Notably, students who are already employed will not be eligible to participate. Each intern selected under this scheme will receive ₹5,000 monthly, funded by the government at ₹4,500 and supplemented by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions from the sponsoring company, amounting to ₹500.
One-Stop Internship Portal in Development
The Centre is also working on creating a comprehensive internship portal to address all related inquiries. This platform will allow candidates to apply for internships based on available positions in participating companies. Additionally, it will feature a system that aligns applicants’ skills with the specific requirements of firms.
Focus on Major CSR Contributors
In implementing this scheme, the government plans to prioritise significant CSR contributors, such as Reliance Industries (RIL), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HDFC Bank, ONGC, and NTPC. The initiative includes a one-time grant of ₹6,000 and an annual stipend of ₹54,000, totaling ₹60,000 for each intern.
Participating companies will be responsible for covering training costs and will contribute about 10% of the monthly stipend from their CSR funds. In August, the MCA formed a dedicated panel to roll out the proposed internship scheme and engaged in discussions with industry representatives regarding its framework and specifics.
Voluntary Participation from Companies
The scheme will likely be voluntary for corporations and aims to include the top 500 companies based on average CSR expenditures over the past three years. This initiative was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget presentation for FY 2024-25 in July.
While unveiling the scheme, Sitharaman highlighted that interns would gain 12 months of exposure to real-world business environments, diverse career paths, and employment opportunities. The program aims to provide internships for 10 million youths in the top 500 companies over the next five years.
For the current fiscal year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been allocated a budget of ₹2,000 crore for this initiative.
