MCA likely to bring out internship scheme guidelines within two weeks

The MCA has held industry consultations on the scheme before finalising the guidelines. The ministry will also put in place checks and balances in the scheme to ensure transparency

The detailed guidelines for the Centre’s ambitious internship scheme are likely to be released by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in the next two weeks, a senior government official said.

The ministry has held industry consultations on the scheme before finalising the guidelines.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the internship scheme to provide on job training opportunities to 10 million youth in the country’s top 500 companies over five years.

“The budget itself has provided a lot of details of how the schemes will work. The guidelines will incorporate those points and also detail the operational framework on the internship scheme,” the senior official said. 

The ministry would also put in place checks and balances in the scheme to ensure there is transparency. It would detail the timeline for applications, process for selection of candidates by the companies among other things. 

“The idea is to take people who are less employable and improve their skills under this scheme,” the senior official said. 

While the immediate focus is to reach out to the candidates who can avail of these internships, at a later stage, the quality of the skills being undertaken would also be looked into by the government. 

The government has announced the scheme for internship in 500 top companies to 10 million youth over the next five years. The MCA will coordinate with these companies to direct resources toward industrial skills training.

The internship program would provide 12 months of real-life business exposure, with an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month and a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. The government will cover 90 per cent of the internship allowances, while companies will contribute the remaining 10 per cent and bear training costs within their operations.

The companies will bear the cost of training the interns through corporate social responsibility. Companies can take up this scheme on a voluntary basis.

The Companies Act however, makes corporate social responsibility a mandatory and a statutory obligation, making India one of the few countries to do so. 

Internships will be offered through suppliers or value chain partners of the top 500 companies. Unlike apprenticeships, there is no obligation for companies to hire interns permanently. The scheme aims to encourage companies to take on individuals they might not typically employ without the subsidy.

This scheme, the finance ministry has said, aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry requirements in order to align with broader goals of improving employability, stimulating economic growth, and promoting sustainable development.