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The Centre officially launched the highly anticipated PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) on Thursday, introducing a pilot project aimed at placing 1.25 lakh unemployable youth as corporate interns in the top 500 companies engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) by December 2. The initiative comes with an initial outlay of ?800 crore and will be managed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) through an online platform.
The pilot project has appointed the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) as its vendor, with specific reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and disabled individuals among the prospective internship applicants. MCA sources confirmed that all reservation rules applicable to Central Government jobs will also apply to the internships planned over the next five years.
The newly launched centralized platform, accessible at www.pminternship.mca.gov.in, received interest from 111 companies by Thursday afternoon, including major firms such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Alembic Pharma, and Max Life Insurance. Industries expressing interest in hiring interns span various sectors, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
The portal will remain open for partner companies from October 3 to October 11, while aspiring interns can apply from October 12 to October 25. Companies will select interns from the shortlisted candidates between October 27 and November 7, with candidates having until November 8 to 15 to accept their offers. The first batch of selected interns is set to begin their assignments on December 2.
It is important to note that this pilot project is not a job scheme; instead, it aims to provide "unemployable youth with exposure to the real-life business environment, across varied professions and employment opportunities," sources indicated.
When queried about the skill sets that corporates are looking for in unemployable youth, sources revealed that competencies related to production and maintenance on the shop floor are the primary requirements of the industry.
The MCA expressed confidence that the pilot project would be a success, facilitating the upskilling of 1 crore unemployable youth over the next five years. Following the pilots outcomes, a final cabinet note will be drafted for the broader internship scheme, with the possibility of expanding the scope of partner companies beyond the top 500 CSR spenders.
Furthermore, the government is committed to filling the reserved slots within the internship scheme, ensuring that these positions are not occupied by individuals from the non-reserved category. "We will ensure full compliance in filling the reserved slots under the PMIS scheme; reservation for SC, ST, OBC, and disabled individuals is non-negotiable," sources confirmed.
The PM Internship initiative was announced in this year’s Budget as part of the Modi government’s ?2 lakh crore ($24 billion) spending plan, aimed at creating jobs and providing skills to 4.1 crore youth in the next five years. The PM Internship Scheme, which falls under a broader package of five initiatives to facilitate employment and skills development, will have an internship duration of one year, targeting candidates aged between 21 and 24 who are not engaged in full-time employment. Eligibility extends to individuals who have passed class 10 and above, although those from families with government jobs and those whose family income exceeds ?8 lakh for the fiscal year 2023-24 will be excluded. The MCA clarified that the scheme primarily targets economically weaker sections (EWS) and that the income criterion is non-negotiable. |
