Over 1.55 lakh candidates sign up for PM Internship Scheme in just 24 hours

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) More than 1.55 lakh candidates have signed up for the newly launched PM Internship Scheme in just 24 hours, according to reports citing government sources.The registration process for the Scheme began on Saturday, with nearly 80,000 internship opportunities across 24 sectors available on the portal.

Aimed at benefiting around 10 million young people over the next five years, the scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It aims to address youth unemployment and will help connect young people with companies that are seeking talent.Major private firms such as Jubilant Foodworks, Maruti Suzuki India, Larsen and Toubro, Muthoot Finance, and Reliance Industries are among the 193 companies that posted internship opportunities on the platform.Internships are available across 24 sectors and over 20 fields, including operations management, production, maintenance, and sales.The initiative has also received contributions from sectors such as oil, gas, energy, travel and hospitality, automotive, and banking.

The portal ensures efficient access to internships across sectors with Aadhaar-based registration and tools like bio-data generation.The scheme targets over 1.2 lakh internships in 737 districts across 28 States and 8 Union Territories in the current financial year.

Further, top companies are also offering positions that could help address skill gaps and boost employment.

According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is managing the scheme, it is a transformative initiative by the government to ensure the skills of the youth, which will enhance their employability.The selected youths will get an opportunity to do an internship in the top 500 companies in India for a year and also get an allowance of Rs 5,000 per month and Rs 6,000 as a one-time grant.

Of the Rs 5,000 stipend, Rs 500 will come from companies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, and the remaining Rs 4,500 will be provided by the government.

To apply for the Scheme, candidates should have passed high school or higher secondary school, have a certificate from an ITI, hold a diploma from a Polytechnic Institute, or must be graduates with degrees such as BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BCA, BBA, B.Pharma, etc.Candidates can register themselves on the portal through https://pminternship.mca.gov.in.