PM internship scheme: 1.25 lakh internships to bridge gap between education and industry requirements

The union government on Oct 3 announced the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme for the fiscal year 2024-2025, offering 1.25 lakh internships at prestigious companies.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) online platform will be used to carry out the pilot project, which is part of a bigger plan to offer one crore internships over five years.

The Budget 2024–25 allocated ₹800 crore for the scheme's pilot phase. Young graduates will be able to bridge the gap between academic learning and industrial requirements by participating in this project, which will connect them with 500 of the nation's leading enterprises.

Currently, top companies like Alembic Pharma, Max Life, and Mahindra & Mahindra have already made 1,077 internship offers, showing strong interest.

According to sources, the MCA has declared that the union's reservation policy for people with disabilities, other backward classes, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes shall apply to the internships offered under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme.

Candidates can register on pminternship.mca.gov.in between October 12–25. After the selection procedure from Oct 27 to Nov 7, letters offering internships will be mailed between November 8 and November 15.

Starting on Dec 2, 2024, the first group of interns will begin their one-year internships. Organizations that have taken part in this program have been chosen based on how much they have spent on corporate social responsibility (CSR) during the previous three years.

A stipend for the interns will be provided every month. Participating enterprises will give ₹500 from their CSR money, and the government will provide ₹4,500.

In addition, upon joining, they will receive a one-time award of ₹6,000 and insurance coverage under the PM Suraksha and PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojanas.

The PM Internship Scheme is open to individuals between the ages of 21 and 24 who hold a high school or higher secondary certificate, an ITI certification, or graduate degrees such as a BA, BSc, BCom, BCA, or BBA.

Those who are full-time employees or enrolled in educational institutions, however, are not eligible.

Graduates from prestigious universities, including National Law Universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), are also not eligible.

To ensure smooth support for all stakeholders, the initiative provides a grievance redressal procedure and a multilingual helpline (1800-116-090) for assistance.