India is ready to endow its youth with the newly launched Prime Minister Internship Scheme, for which more than 90,800 internship opportunities from 193 companies have been registered on the online portal, which was opened on October 3. This scheme is to create internships for 1 crore candidates in the age group of 21–24 years within the period of five years, which was announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024.
The scheme has opportunities in 24 sectors, with the most opportunities in oil, gas, and energy. Other large industries are the tourism and leisure, automobile, and banking and finance industries. Some of the leading organisations that are engaged in this scheme are Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries, Eicher Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Jubilant Foodworks, and Muthoot Finance. These organisations were chosen because they meet the criteria of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the last three years; thus, interns will be placed in organisations with a good record of CSR.
Internships will cover over 20 areas of specialisation, such as operations management, production, manufacturing, maintenance, and sales and marketing. The program is aimed at improving the employment opportunities of the participants as they get practical experience. Interns will be paid Rs 5,000 per month for 12 months and Rs 6,000 one time for incidental expenses.
The scheme proposes to enrol about 1.25 lakh candidates in the pilot year 2024-25, and the scheme will start on December 2, 2024. The internships will be offered in 737 of the districts in 36 states and Union Territories, which shows that the program is aimed at preparing young people from all over the country for future careers.
Those who meet the requirements must create an account on the official website and can choose up to five internships of their choice. The initiative is not limited to the creation of employment opportunities for the youths but also targets preparing youths for the modern, dynamic job market.
