Budget 2024: Internships for 1 crore youth at India's top companies

An interesting focus in this year’s speech was on internships for the youth. Image: Shutterstock

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 1.48 lakh crore towards education, employment and skilling, stating that one of the four major themes for this year’s Budget was skilling.

The finance minister outlined a new scheme in collaboration with state governments and industry, for 20 lakh youth to be skilled over a five-year period. For this, 1,000 ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) will be upgraded in hub-and-spoke arrangements, with a focus on outcome-orientation, and course content and design aligned with industry needs as new courses will be introduced for emerging needs.

About 25,000 students every year will benefit from a revision in the Model Skill Loan Scheme, which will facilitate loans of up to Rs7.5 lakh, with a guarantee from a government-promoted fund. For higher education in domestic institutes, students can receive financial support for loans up to Rs 10 lakh. One lakh students will receive direct e-vouchers for this, with annual interest subvention of 3 percent of the loan amount.

“Education and skilling loans will bring more students to the education fold, thereby increasing the gross enrollment ratio—a move towards achieving the 50 percent target by 2035,” says Sahil Gupta, partner, Deloitte India. “Second, it will prepare youth with skills relevant for industry needs, adding to the productive workforce needs of today and tomorrow.”

Internships scheme

An interesting focus in this year’s speech was on internships for the youth. The finance minister said the government plans to assist 1 crore youth to be skilled by India’s top companies over five years. For 12 months, the government will provide these interns a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000, which is applicable to those who are not full-time students, and those who are not yet employed.

Youth between the ages of 21 and 24 are eligible to apply.

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The cost-share for internships per annum will be as follows: The government will allocate Rs 54,000 towards monthly allowance, plus a Rs 6,000 grant for incidentals. The company can allocate Rs 6,000 from CSR funds towards monthly allowance; training cost is to be borne by the company.
Applications will take place through an online portal, and companies’ participation is voluntary. Companies can shortlist candidates based on objective criteria, with emphasis on those with lower employability.

“I am particularly excited about the provision for 1 crore youth to gain industry experience through internships with 500 top companies—this will bridge the gap between theory and practice,” says Raghav Gupta, managing director, APAC and India, Coursera. “The cross-sector collaboration can address the rapidly growing skills gap and social inequities, ensuring students transition smoothly into high-demand job roles. Businesses will also benefit from a diverse and skilled talent pool, reducing recruitment time and costs.”

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“Encouraging companies to utilise their CSR funds for the learning and development of interns is a welcome move. It may even be the right nudge to inspire companies to build more holistic internship programmes, contributing to the overall employment and skilling development of the nation,” added Sarvesh Agrawal, founder and CEO of career-tech platform Internshala. “I am optimistic that these initiatives will pave the way for a brighter future, where the Indian youth are well-equipped to meet the challenges of the global economy and drive our nation's growth.”

Meanwhile, shares of education, training and recruitment firm TeamLease shot up by 11.3 percent after the announcements on the sector, touching Rs 3,239.