Government Internship Scheme: MCA-led Panel To Select Candidates For Companies

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)-led panel might shortlist the candidates based on the eligibility criteria and accordingly forward it to the companies under the government’ internship scheme.  The scheme was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the July Budget 2024-25.

The companies however are not obligated to hire all candidates recommended by the panel and have option to reject the application, people with direct knowledge of the matter told NDTV Profit.

The panel might recommend the two applications for every single position, they said.

MCA, which is the nodal ministry for the internship scheme is finalizing the the guidelines which will be roll out by end of October specifying the number of internship positions and eligibility criteria.

The ministry is also expected to share the list of at least 500 companies that can participate in the internship scheme.

“The application for internship would come through the government portal, where the companies would share position for the internship,” official cited above said.

These 500 companies list would be based on their average annual spending on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations over three years through 2022-23. An official data showed that RIL, TCS, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank among the top CSR contributors.

The Prime Minister Internship Scheme aims to skill 10 million youths in India’s top companies in five years through the internship scheme by providing a work environment. The scheme will cater unemployed youth aged 21 to 24 with no income-tax payee in the family and without education in elite institutions like the IITs and IIMs would be among those eligible for the scheme.

The Centre would provide an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month along with a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. While companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10 per cent of the internship cost from their CSR funds. 

Internships will be offered through suppliers or value-chain partners of the top 500 companies. Unlike apprenticeships, there is no obligation for companies to hire interns permanently. The scheme aims to encourage companies to take on individuals they might not typically employ without the subsidy.

According to the finance ministry, the purpose of this program is to close the knowledge gap between academia and industry standards, thereby aligning with the overarching objectives of enhancing employability, fostering economic expansion, and advancing sustainable development.