The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has expanded the eligibility criteria of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) to include final-year graduate and post graduate students, specifically targetting people within the age bracket of 18-25 years as against the previous age creteria of 21-24 years.
Though the ministry said that the students will be required to submit a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their respective educational institutions during the application process, and the certificate has to confirm that participation in the internship will not interfere with the academic requirements.
“This is expected to unlock early access to structured internship opportunities in top companies across India for students, enabling them to gain hands-on industry exposure before completing their formal education. The decision has been formalised in consultation with the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education,” the ministry said in a note.
On April 4, FE had reported that the government is planning to relax the age and qualification criteria that will allow candidates within 18-25 age bracket to apply under the revised norms. The third round of the pilot project started on March 20 with the government raising the monthly stipend to Rs 9,000 per month, up from Rs 5,000 in the first two rounds, to attract a higher pool of candidates.
Lukewarm response from youth
The scheme has thus far received lukewarm response from the youth. As per official data, just 8,768 interns have completed their internships in the two rounds of the pilot project. On top of the low acceptance rates, some 7,292 interns left their respective companies without completing the training. In the first two rounds, just about 33,000 candidates accepted the internships which was far short of the 125,000 target set by the government.
Experts said that the government might be required to make some more changes – like expanding the list of companies – to give a boost to scheme.
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