According to sources in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme has registered over 90,849 opportunities as on Friday. The internship portal launched, on a pilot basis on October 3, is opened for applicants starting from today evening.
The opportunities are spread across 24 sectors, with the greatest share available in the oil, gas & energy sector, followed by travel & hospitality, automotives, banking and financial services among others. Spread, across 737 districts across the country, the scheme would target providing 125,000 internship opportunities to youth aged 21 to 24 in FY 2024-25 with a budget of Rs 800 crore.
MCA sources shared that so far internship opportunities have been posted by 193 companies, including major private sector players such as Jubilant Foodworks, Maruti Suzuki India, Eicher Motor Ltd, Larsen & Toubro, Muthoot Finance, and Reliance Industries.
The eligibility criteria for internship candidates requires them to have passed High School, Higher Secondary School, possess a certificate from an Industrial Training Institute, hold a diploma from a Polytechnic Institute or have a graduate degree. The persons should also be Indian nationals, who are not fully employed and engaged in full-time education. Those enrolled in online or distance learning programmes are eligible to apply.
The MCA would provide direct benefit transfer of Rs. 6,000 to the intern on joining and a cover under the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima and PM Surakha Yojana. A financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per month would also be provided to the intern of which Rs. 4,500 would be disbursed by the government and Rs. 500 would be paid by the company from its CSR funds.
