Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme during the Union Budget 2024-25 presentation to provide one crore youth in India with internship opportunities in top companies.
About Internship Opportunities in Top Companies
Dwelling on the Budget theme, Smt Sitharaman said, turning attention to the full year and beyond, in this budget, we particularly focus on employment, skilling, MSMEs, and the middle class. She announced the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore. This year, ₹1.48 lakh crore has been allocated for education, employment and skilling.
As the 5th scheme under the Prime Minister’s package, our government will launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to 1 crore youth in 5 years. They will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environments, varied professions and employment opportunities. An internship allowance of 5,000 per month and a one-time assistance of 6,000 will be provided. Companies will be expected to bear the training and 10% of the internship costs from their CSR funds.
Key Highlights of the Scheme
- Beneficiaries: One crore youth
- Duration: Five years
- Internship Stipend: Rs 5,000 per month
- One-time Assistance: Rs 6,000
- Cost of Training: To be borne by companies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives
Objectives and Impact
This initiative is part of a broader package to enhance India’s skilling capacity and generate sufficient employment opportunities. The finance minister emphasized that this scheme is expected to significantly benefit the youth, enabling them to gain valuable experience and skills in some of the country’s top companies.
Launches Youth-Centric Initiatives
The Budget also introduced other schemes targeting youth employment and skilling:
- Skilling Initiative: Skilling of 20 lakh youth over the next five years in partnership with states and industry.
- Educational Loans: Up to Rs 10 lakh for students to pursue higher education in domestic institutions.
- ITI Upgradation: 1,000 ITIs to be upgraded on a hub-and-spoke model.
Budget Allocation
The Union Budget 2024 has allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crores towards education, employment, and skilling of youth, marking a 30% increase from the previous financial year.
Focus Areas
Finance Minister Sitharaman highlighted that the government focuses on the youth, the poor, women, and farmers. The Budget is built on nine key priorities: employment, social justice, urban development, and energy security.
This approach aims to equip India’s youth with the skills and opportunities necessary to drive the nation’s economic growth and become a developed country by 2047.
