Many different parts of the economy have already told the government what they hope will be included in the upcoming budget.
PM Internship Scheme
The scheme may undergo changes to its eligibility criteria for participating companies, according to a high-level source. This modification is intended to broaden the scheme’s scope and attract a wider range of companies.The Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme, which was announced in the July 2024 budget as part of a big plan for jobs and training, might be changed in the next budget.
Right now, only the top 500 companies that spend the most money on helping society (called Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR) over the past three years are allowed to join this program. This is decided by the government’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The rules for who can join this program as students might also change. Right now, only students who graduated from top colleges like IITs, IIMs, and other well-known universities can apply.
If your parent or spouse works for the government, you can’t join this program either. You must be between 21 and 24 years old, and no one in your family can earn more than Rs 8 lakh per year. Some of these rules might be changed to make it easier for more people to join.
The program is still being tested out right now. The government has created a website where companies can register and post internship opportunities. Students can also register on this website to find internships. The program was supposed to start in December 2024, but it might be delayed.
Even though a company spends a lot on helping society (CSR), it doesn’t always mean they have a lot of money or a large number of employees. For example, some online shopping companies and tech companies don’t have to spend money on CSR because they show losses in their business records. But these companies are still very successful and have many jobs to offer.
When asked if Amazon would participate in this internship program, a top manager said “it doesn’t apply to us.” Amazon India has around 100,000 employees, but they’ve shown losses in their business, so they don’t have to spend money on helping society (CSR). Therefore, they don’t qualify for this program.
Modification in the scheme may be announced in the Union Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 or at the time of actual rollout of the scheme.
Sumit Kumar, a top official from TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, believes that if more companies are allowed to participate in this program, there will be many more internship opportunities. Currently, only the top 500 companies that spend money on helping society (CSR) can join. He suggests that all companies that follow the government’s rules about CSR should be allowed to participate.
According to the government’s rules for companies (Companies Act 2013), if a company has a lot of money (net worth of Rs 500 crore or more), makes a lot of money (turnover of Rs 1000 crore or more), or earns a good profit (net profit of Rs 5 crore or more), they are required to spend at least 2% of their average profit from the previous three years on helping society (CSR).
