MCA likely to bring out internship scheme guidelines within two weeks

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is likely to bring out the guidelines for the Internship Scheme proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on July 23 within the next two weeks, a senior official said.

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

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. It will detail the timeline for applications, the process for the 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 themselves of these internships, at a later stage, the quality of the skills being developed will also be looked into by the government.

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

The internship programme will 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 (CSR). Companies can take up this scheme on a voluntary basis. The Companies Act, however, makes CSR a mandatory and 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.

The finance ministry has said this scheme 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.