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PM Modi will interact with the young interns from across India at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in the national capital on December 2, it is learnt
The PMIS portal has received around 1.85 lakh applications since registrations for the internships were opened on October 3. (Shutterstock File)
Months after the Centre announced its ambitious PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) 2024 during its full budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on December 2 interact with select youths who have found internships through the portal, News18 has learnt.
Modi will interact with the young interns from across India at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in the national capital, it is learnt.
The scheme was announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman this July while presenting the full 2024-25 budget that aims to provide young individuals between 21 and 24 years of age from low-income households with 12-month internship opportunities in the country’s top 500 companies with a stipend of Rs 5,000 a month. The target is to facilitate internships for one crore youth over the next five years.
Also, besides this, a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 will also be given to the interns under the scheme as financial assistance after joining the programme.
The corporate affairs ministry has been tasked with facilitating the scheme. “Offer letters to the selected interns are being handed out. There were some technical issues, which are being resolved fast,” said an official in-the-know.
1.85 LAKH APPLICATIONS IN FIRST PHASE
The PMIS portal has received around 1.85 lakh applications since registrations for the internships were opened on October 3. It was closed on November 15 and the next phase of registrations will start in December; it is learnt.
According to the portal website, 1.25 lakh internship opportunities are posted on it.
While the portal has taken off, it is faced with several technical glitches and the number of applications is expected to grow over the next few months, said officials.
According to a senior official, the number of applicants should increase as awareness about the same spreads across regions. The scheme aims at allowing work experience to these youths in real-work settings at the top companies.
“However, one of the issues is that most of the applications that are coming in are not fitting the eligibility criteria because of the conditions put forward in the scheme, including that the youth must not be enrolled in college full-time; and neither they should be employed anywhere full time. I believe that this criterion must be relaxed or fine-tuned for more young people falling in this bracket to be able to apply and get the job,” said a second official, not wishing to be named.
Besides, the other conditions in the scheme include that no family member of the applicant is earning more than Rs 8 lakh per annum; and that no member in the family has a government job.
According to the PMIS portal, the top 500 companies listed on it include ONGC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, TATA Consultancy Services, Infosys, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Indian Oil, HCL, Asian Paints, Apollo Tyres, Jindal Steel&Power, Bharat Petroleum, GAIL, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Hyundai Motor India, among others.
