TOI News Desk
It has only been just 24-hours since the Prime Minister Internship Scheme went live and already there are over 1.55 lakh candidates have already applied.
Ministry of corporate affairs sources said 1,55,109 candidates have applied for internships on the portal since it went live at 5 pm on Saturday and the target was to have 1.25 lakh candidates.
The scheme, implemented by the corporate affairs ministry through the portal ‘www.pminternship.mca.gov.in’, is open to individuals aged 21-24 years, according to the PTI citing sources.
The internships are set to commence on December 2, offering a monthly financial assistance of Rs 5,000 for 12 months and a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 to each intern.
The ministry reported that in the past week, the portal added more than 80,000 opportunities across 24 sectors, including oil, gas and energy, travel and hospitality, and automotive.
The portal ensures efficient access to internships across sectors with Aadhaar-based registration and tools like bio-data generation.
The pilot project of the scheme, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2024, is estimated to have an initial cost of Rs 800 crore. The scheme aims to provide an opportunity for individuals to intern in the top 500 companies in India for 12 months.
Applicants can access internships through the portal, which is done through Aadhaar-based registration and tools such as bio-data generation. Interns will be selected through an objective, fair, socially inclusive and tech-driven process, according to the ministry.