The launch of the ambitious PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) has been postponed, two sources in the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) confirmed to FE, even as they insisted the decision had little to do with response to the scheme from companies and job seekers.
As per the plan, the scheme was supposed to start from today (December 2) with a duration of 12 months for the first batch of beneficiaries.
“The new date is yet to be determined. But the scheme has got good response,” said an MCA official, on condition of anonymity.
The person did not elaborate on the reason for the postponement.
The delay in start of the scheme has left the candidates in the dark. As per the latest data from MCA, the pilot project of PMIS received over 6.5 lakh applications for 1.27 lakh opportunities offered by 280 companies participating in the scheme.
Initially, the registration window was also expected to close on November 10 but it was later extended to November 15 for wider participation from candidates.
The pilot phase of the scheme intends to provide 1.25 lakh internships across 24 sectors such as oil & gas, energy, travel, automotive, banking and financial services, etc. Broadly, the scheme is divided into two phases with a target to train 10 million people over a five year period.
The selected interns will be trained in real-life skills, and will receive a stipend of Rs 5,000 per month out of which the government plans to contribute Rs 4,500 — via direct benefit transfer to the intern’s Aadhaar-seeded bank account — and the rest will come from the companies.
It is not clear yet that whether the selection process for candidates has been concluded since the number of applications received is over five times of the total opportunities.
The scheme, which was announced in the union budget for 2024-25, and kicked off on October 3, has targeted top 500 companies in India based on their average corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure over the last three years. Although, these companies don’t have to mandatorily participate in the scheme. If a company cannot directly provide internship opportunities, it can collaborate with companies in its forward and backward supply chain (like suppliers, customers, vendors) to offer internships.
Meanwhile, companies and financial institutions beyond the top 500 list can participate as well subject to approval from MCA, especially if they represent underrepresented sectors.
Large and medium-size companies such as Reliance Industries, TCS, ITC, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro, Jubilant FoodWorks, etc. have shown interest in giving internships.