NEW DELHI: The portal for registration for the PM Internship scheme went live on Saturday, a scheme that has attracted several large companies and is aimed at enhancing the employability of young men and women entering the workforce.
Over 190 companies ranging from Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki, Jubilant Foodworks, Eicher Motors, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, ITC, IndianOil, ICICI Bank have offered more than 90,000 opportunities so far through the scheme.
Applicants can access internships through Aadhaar-based registration and tools such as bio-data generation on the portal. The scheme was announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her July Budget amid the growing chorus over unemployment. Companies have often complained about the employability of those entering the workforce and the internship programme aims to bridge the skill gap and raise the prospect for employment. Sitharaman in her Budget speech had said that the scheme will provide opportunities in 500 top companies to one crore youth over five years. She had said that companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10% of the internship cost from their CSR funds.
This is a pilot project and based on the learning the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) will finalise the scheme for Cabinet approval to widen the coverage. Candidates can register themselves on the portal: pminternship.mca.gov.in It provides an opportunity for those in the 21-24 age group to do internships for one year. There is an allowance of Rs 5,000 per month and Rs 6,000 one time grant.
The internship opportunities will be available in 737 districts across India and top five states were Maharashtra where 10,242 opportunities were posted. Tamil Nadu was second with 9,827 internships, followed by Gujarat with 9,311, Karnataka 8,326 and UP at 7,156.