Stipend boost: Win-win situation for city interns and companies
Times of India | 24 July 2024
Kolkata: Srinjoy Das, who had interned with a legal firm a few years ago, is happy that doing internship would no longer be a free labour following the announcement of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who presented the budget about internship in top companies as part of skill development programme. Das believes that now there will be some dignity of labour.
The FM announced a new govt scheme whereby companies can use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to cover 10% of internship costs.As per the scheme announced in the budget, interns across various spheres will get a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 and a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000. One crore youth have been proposed to be skilled by India’s top companies in five years. As per the scheme, the Centre will give Rs 54,000 towards monthly allowance (plus Rs 6,000 grant for incidentals). A company has to pay Rs 6,000 from CSR funds towards monthly allowance. Training cost will have to be borne by the company from CSR funds.
“The interns need to get a reasonable remuneration so that they don’t need to pay money from their own pockets during their stint with any company as interns,” Das said.
Rashika Sarbadhikari, a student interning with a digital marketing agency in the city, is excited after the announcement. “The fixed amount allocated for interns is good. Earlier, we worked hard but did not get any remuneration. Now, if I get the allowance, I can spend it on my studies like tuition fees or book purchase. This financial support will help us manage our expenses during the internship period, making it easier for us to focus on hands-on learning without worrying much about monetary issues,” she said.
The financial support for interns will bridge the transition from academic life to professional life, said another intern Aratrika Guha. Isha Paul, who is preparing to study MBA, said, “After graduation, I had interned with a financial firm but did not receive any stipend or allowance. I had to spend from my pocket money for commute.”
Director of Shyam Steel Lalit Beriwal hailed the scheme. “We take interns for 2-3 months and we also pay the interns for their service. If someone is good we also keep them,” he added. Advisory leader of PwC, Arnab Basu, pointed out that the focus on internship, education and skilling will spur job creation. “We in PwC have been taking large number of interns on a paid basis for many years now,” he added.