New Delhi [India], March 17 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a dedicated mobile app for the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme on Monday.
The App has several features, including an intuitive interface with a clean design and effortless navigation; easy registration through Aadhaar face authentication; effortless navigation (Eligible candidates can sift through opportunities by location, etc.) a personalized dashboard; and real-time alerts to keep candidates abreast of new updates.
The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme (PMIS Scheme), announced in the Budget 2024- 25, aims to provide one crore youth with internship opportunities in the top 500 companies in five years.
As an initiation to this Scheme, the pilot project, which aims to provide 1.25 lakh internship opportunities to the youth, was launched on October 3, 2024.
The scheme provides for 12-month paid internships in top companies of India.
The scheme targets individuals aged 21 to 24 who are currently not enrolled in any full-time academic program or not in full-time employment.
Each intern will receive monthly financial assistance of Rs 5,000, supplemented by one-time financial assistance of Rs 6,000. Companies are expected to pay for the training and 10 percent of the internship costs from their CSR funds.
After the launch of the app, Finance Minister Sitharaman said, "The government is keeping in mind we need to give that confidence to our youth. We need youth to understand what it takes to get into such top 500 companies."
She urged the Indian industry to participate in the larger interest of the country's youth.
"That demographic dividend which exists should be available for the industry so that their productivity, their future can be better endowed with our youngsters," she added.
"This attempt by the Corporate affairs to make it accessible in all Indian languages in the website is a very good step forward. You cannot limit students to English. Every language in India should have its dominance, especially if the students are from non-metropolitan cities. Now by launching a mobile app, you're making it even more accessible."
In the July 2024 budget, the BJP-led NDA government announced five different approaches to Viksit Bharat. Among those were measures to promote manufacturing and services through internships.
The internship programme was meant for people who, till then, couldn't find an opportunity because either they were not skilled enough or they were not trained enough.