PM’s ₹5,000 Internship Scheme. Is The PM Internship Scheme The Real Solution To India’s Job Crisis Or Just A Year Of Pocket Money?

The Indian government-initiated Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS) can be a game changer when it comes to employment for the youth. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the scheme in the 2024 Union Budget on October 3, 2024. It aims to provide one crore (10 million) interns across India in the next five years. 

The PM Internship Scheme targets the youth employment problem mainly through practical work experience provided to the youth, thus making them all the more employable and increasingly valuable and helpful in actual work situations. 

The internships will be for a period of 12 months with a stipend of ₹5,000 (approximately $60) per month and will be spent in some of India’s top companies. 

The government has also formed an online portal, pminternship.mca.gov.in, to register candidates and companies. The portal is expected to go live on October 12, 2024, and is likely to see the interns working from December 2 onwards.

This program will be a stepping stone for young people to transition from education to work. But how will it be implemented? Will it really help reduce youth unemployment in India, or is it just another temporary solution?

Key Objectives of the PM Internship Scheme

The PM Internship Scheme has many apparent goals.

These internships aims to give young people a taste of what the working world is really about. They learn on the job, gaining practical exposure to different sectors of the economy.

The ₹5,000 monthly stipend is modest but is designed to ease somewhat the burden of finance from the shoulders of these young people. This stipend will help some people since it is available to those who would otherwise not be able to afford this unpaid internship.

It will be possible through these internships to equip young people with the skills to make them more employable in the future. Companies will also benefit from this as it will bring fresh talent and ideas into the workplace.

It will provide peace of mind to the family regarding safety and well-being through government insurance schemes such as PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and PM Suraksha Bima Yojana for the interns.

How Will the Scheme Be Implemented?

The rollout of the PM Internship Scheme has been scheduled with the maximum number of youth covered in mind and the maintenance of quality standards. Let’s break this down on how this will work-

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has designed a dedicated online portal: pminternship.mca.gov.in. The companies will place their internship on their respective portal, and candidates will directly apply based on qualification, preference, and internship location.

The portal would be user-friendly and easy for employers and candidates to navigate. From October 12, 2024, an application window will be open, and the intake dates for internships are expected to be on December 2, 2024. A student may apply for as many as five internships based on his or her interests and qualifications.

Pilot Phase and Funding

The scheme is launched on a pilot basis with a budget of ₹800 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25. The government will provide internships to 1.25 lakh candidates during this phase. This is because if it is successful, the government will get an opportunity to know the extent of its success and accordingly make adjustments before scaling it up in the following years.

Corporate Participation

The most significant feature of the scheme, however, is corporate participation. It has identified the top 500 companies based on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure incurred during the past three years. It aims to bring them under its scheme by providing the internship and recompensing ₹ 500 out of the CSR fund. The government will reimburse the remaining ₹ 4,500 of the ₹ 5,000 stipend.

Although participation is purely voluntary, the government hopes that many of them will come forward and support the initiative. Companies can also bear the cost of training interns from their CSR funds, exposing interns to beneficial skills in an internship.

Eligibility Criteria

The PM Internship Scheme’s eligibility criteria are prepared so the scheme touches on suitable candidates. The conditions applied to the eligible candidates for the scheme are given below.

• The candidate’s age must be between 21 and 24 years.
• The candidates should not be employed full-time.
• They must have completed high school and a diploma from the polytechnic institute, and they also require an undergraduate degree in streams including BA, BSc, B. Com, BBA, etc.
• Online or distance learning aspirants can also apply for this program. This is going to increase the number of applicants eligible for this program even more.
• Graduates of IITs and IIMs cannot apply because more opportunities are available in those institutions.

Structure of Internship

It is at least 12 months, with at least half of the period spent in a natural working environment. That would mean that most of their time would be hands-on and spent in the field and not primarily spent in a classroom session or training room

It’s not for big companies, but other banks and financial institutions may apply, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. That means more diverse opportunities for youth in terms of options in an internship setting, where they can experience other kinds of industries and careers.

Financial Structure

The PM Internship Scheme also has financial provisions to support both the interns as well as host companies.

Monthly Stipend: Interns will get ₹5,000 per month, out of which ₹4,500 will be from the government and ₹500 will be from participating companies.

One-time grant: On joining the internship, the three interns are provided with a one-time ₹6,000 for incidental travelling and stay, personal expenses, etc.

Training Costs: The companies will have to bear the costs of training the interns. The same will be borne out of the companies’ CSR funds, providing practical guidance and skill development to the interns through this internship.

Impact on Employment Among Youths

You see, youth unemployment is a significant challenge for India, and such initiatives as the PM Internship Scheme are striving to take care of that issue by providing structured work experience opportunities to the youth. However, how much of this would help the cause of youth employment depends on several factors.

One of the major benefits of the PM Internship Scheme is that it allows young folks to gain practical skills in real-world conditions. Many Indian graduates, who graduate with theoretical knowledge, lack the hands-on experience that employers today seek in job aspirants, and this scheme may fill this gap. Work experience in top companies will endow interns with a lot of skills, which will be helpful in future job opportunities.

Although the scheme does not directly create permanent employment, it offers work experience to these young people, increasing their chances of employment later on. Again, through exposure to various industries, the participants will have the opportunity to make well-informed career choices and raise their chances in the job market.

One of the probable issues of this scheme is that the nature of the internship is temporary. These internships are for 12 months and, full-time employment is not assured at the end of the contract. Given the competitive job market in India, there’s a significant possibility that many interns might be unemployed after the completion of their internship.

However, the knowledge acquired through these internships can still be helpful for future employment. Few good performers will be retained full-time by the companies. Others will employ the skills to seek jobs elsewhere.

Challenges and Concerns

The PM Internship Scheme is good but faces challenges that may work against its success.

The outcome of the scheme depends on corporate participation; therefore, because participation is voluntary, it does not work out to be sure that all of the targeted companies will participate. They may not want to join if they don’t realize their benefits, or if they are willing to join, they may offer only a few internships, limiting the number of opportunities for young people.

Other challenges relate to the quality of internships, which should ideally give work experience opportunities but risk being taken up by different companies that offer administrative tasks rather than necessarily skill development experiences. There is therefore a need for close monitoring by the program’s government to ensure that internships provide real value to the participants.

The pilot phase will be a test of success, but long-term sustainability will depend on its success. If the government wishes to adjust, a proper review of the program results would be required.

If the pilot phase fail, it will become tough to scale up the program over subsequent years.

Will the PM Internship Scheme Truly Make an Impact?

The PM Internship Scheme would be a high-impact initiative that will scale down the problem of youth unemployment in India. Young people would thus gain experience working in top companies and make better career choices, improving their employability. Add this to the stipend and insurance, which would serve the covered group with two well-needed safety nets that would benefit maximum benefit from those from other underprivileged backgrounds.

However, it has weaknesses. The system relies on the corporate sector, for which participation is voluntary. The target may not be achieved regarding the number of internships provided. Because the internship is a temporary one, the solution that the scheme promises cannot, therefore, be infinite by mitigating the problem of permanent unemployment. 

Even though work experience gained from it is applicable, the positive impact on employment is rather indirect, and thus it does not generate an indefinitely sustainable form of employment.

Despite these problems, the PM Internship Scheme is a step in the correct direction, which recognizes the necessity of experience-based training, at least in today’s job market, providing young folks with experience-based skills and knowledge required for successful survival. 

This scheme may improve the employability of millions of Indians, but this will depend on its successful implementation and active participation by companies.

Once the program takes off in the coming months, it will be watched closely both in terms of progress and the impact on youth employment. With proper execution and engagement with the corporates, the PM Internship Scheme could be one of the potent mechanisms in assisting India in the cause of reducing unemployment levels while preparing its youngsters for the difficulties of the modern workplace.