The government has tied up with Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Bangalore, Delhi School of Economics and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) to initiate a survey for gathering feedback from various stakeholders and analyse the impact of the PM Internship Scheme, whose implementation has been deferred by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA).
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for corporate affairs Harsh Malhotra said, “The guidelines of the PM Internship Scheme – pilot project provide for constitution of a monitoring and steering committee to oversee design implementation, operations and other aspects of the scheme across the country. A concurrent monitoring, evaluation and learning framework is also provided to enable tracking of the outcomes as well as to ensure corrective actions during the course of implementation of the pilot project.”
For the smooth operations of the scheme, the ministry has set up a cell which will work with organisations, various ministries and state governments to implement the pilot project. As per the ministry, the pilot project will allow for testing concepts, strategies and systems before a full-scale implementation. “Based on the feedback received and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the pilot project, lessons drawn will be factored in while rolling out the first phase of the scheme,” the minister said.
The minister said the shortlisting process of candidates at the ministry level is going to be “aimed at promoting diversity and social inclusivity through providing for representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes as well as persons with disabilities.”
Announced in the Budget for 2024-25, the scheme aims to provide internship opportunities to 10 million people in top 500 companies over five years. The ministry launched the pilot project on October 3, with a target to provide 125,000 internship opportunities in FY25. The pilot project received more than 650,000 applications for 127,000 opportunities offered by 280 companies. Initially, the scheme was scheduled to be launched on December 2, but it has been deferred.