Internship announcement in Union Budget 2024 draws applause from industries but labour experts call it a hogwash

Pradeep Bhargava, former president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said the internship scheme will help improve the employability of the new entrants in the workforce.

Union Budget internship opportunity for youth

“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," Sitharaman said. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement of internship opportunities at 500 top companies of the country has evoked mixed reactions. The industries have welcomed this move saying it will help in increasing the employability prospects of the youth, but labour consultants and organisers said the scheme is an eye wash against the growing problem of unemployment.

Sitharaman said, “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.”

She added, “An internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month along with a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000 will be provided. Companies will be expected to bear the training cost and 10 per cent of the internship cost from their CSR funds. This is one of the many schemes announced to promote employment in the Budget, the others being employment linked subsidies in which the government would pay one time salary for new employees in three instalments. The other two schemes would see subsidies being given to the employer and employee in terms of Employee Provident Fund (EPFO) contributions.”

Pradeep Bhargava, former president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said the scheme will help improve the employability of the new entrants in the workforce. “By pushing the companies to accept interns, the government is allowing the new entrants a foothold in the workforce,” he said.

Bhargava envisioned three scenarios post the internship. “Ether the parent company can absorb the intern or they would find employment with the vendors or the sub vendors of the big players,” he said. Bhargava said in some cases, the interns can also start their own enterprises drawing from the experience they have gained. “This would help in the generation of employment,” he said.

However, Chandan Kumar, policy advisor, Hamal Panchayat and Coordination Working People’s Charter Network, said the scheme will fail to solve the problem of unemployment. “We have seen how flagship schemes like Skill India and others have failed. This scheme, if anything, will allow availability of cheap labour for the big industries,” he said.

Parthasarathi Biswas

Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More

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