Illustration: Binay Sinha4 min read Last Updated : Oct 04 2024 | 12:46 AM IST The Centre’s reservation policy for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and people with disabilities would be applicable to the internships offered under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme, top sources in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) said. The government on Thursday rolled out the scheme on a pilot basis with a Budget of Rs 800 crore, aiming to provide 125,000 internships to youth aged between 21 and 24 in FY25.Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp “We have to see that the reservation rules are followed in the overall implementation of the scheme eventually.

This is a pilot, which will help us take learnings and refine the scheme going forward,” a top official said.  In her Budget speech on July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the scheme as part of the government job-push agenda.

The government aims to skill 10 million youth over five years through this scheme, offering a 12-month exposure to real-world business environments and diverse professions. The pilot project would be funded with the available resources of MCA.

“When the full-fledged scheme is launched, it will need the Cabinet approval,” the senior official said.  The internship portal is being managed by Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG), a national agency by the Gujarat government. India’s top 500 companies based on their average Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spend for the last three years will take part in the scheme.

These companies can also tie up with entities in its forward and backward value chain, such as suppliers, customers, and vendors.

They can take up this scheme on a voluntary basis.

Other companies can participate, too, with the approval of MCA. For the next week ending October 10, companies would be able to submit information about the number of interns they can place in their companies on the internship portal.

Applications will open from October 12 to October 25. Following this, several shortlists will be prepared using Artificial Intelligence, which will be shared with the companies that will make their selection between October 27 and November 7. Candidates would then have another week, November 8 to 15, to accept or reject offers of internship.

Such candidates may get another two offers if they reject.

The actual internship would start from December 2. So far, the MCA has got on board 111 companies from sectors such as agriculture and allied industries, automotive, pharma, and familiarised them with the nitty-gritty of the programme.

Companies, such as Alembic Pharma, Mahindra - Mahindra, and Max Life Insurance, have enrolled for the scheme. A multilingual call centre has been launched to assist candidates.

So far, 44 per cent of those who called the centre were graduates, 13 per cent postgraduates, 11 per cent were 12th pass, 3 per cent 12th pass with diploma, 3 per cent were 10th pass, and 1 per cent Class 8 pass.

Rest were in the miscellaneous category. Eligible candidates must be Indian nationals, unemployed, and not in full-time education, though those in online or distance programmes can apply.

They must have completed High School, Higher Secondary School, hold a Polytechnic diploma, or have a graduate degree. Candidates would be able to browse internships based on their preferred sectors, roles, locations and apply up to five opportunities. The MCA will provide Rs 6,000 upon joining to interns, who will be covered under PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima and PM Suraksha Yojana.

A monthly assistance of Rs 5,000 will be provided, with Rs 4,500 from the government and Rs 500 from the company’s CSR funds.

Companies can provide assistance over and above Rs 500 if they wish to do so from its own funds. The scheme excludes certain applicants, including chartered accountants, graduates from Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management, and those with family income exceeding Rs 8 lakh for FY24 or government employees.Internship scheme calendar - Oct 3 - 10: Companies submit available positions on the internship portal - Oct 12 - 25: Candidates apply on the portal (First lot of applications) - Oct 26: AI-generated shortlist prepared - Oct 27 - Nov 7: Companies review and select candidates - Nov 8 - 15: Candidates accept or reject internship offersFirst Published: Oct 03 2024 | 6:24 PMIST