Serious questions on govt's internship programme, its ability to implement flagship schemes: Congress

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at the Centre over the implementation of its internship scheme, the Congress on Monday said there are serious questions on its ability to implement flagship programmes and claimed that left to its own devices, this government will also "botch up" the caste census.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that Modi government’s flagship Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) launched in October 2024, is off to a "stuttering start" with a low turnout and high attrition.

"In the year since its tenuous return to power, an idea-less, jaded Modi government has turned towards the Congress' Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections for inspiration. Since June 4th last year, the Modi government agreed to withdraw the angel tax, implement Employment-Linked Incentives, introduce an Internship scheme, and announced a caste census," Ramesh said.

The Modi government, however, continues to face a crippling talent deficit - and several of these schemes have seen incredibly poor implementation, he claimed.

Reports have now emerged which show that the internship scheme announced in the Union Budget last year has also "flopped", Ramesh said.

"The funds allocated for the Pradhan Mantri Internship Scheme (PMIS) remained largely underutilised - the Rs 2,000 crore initially earmarked for FY25 was revised down to Rs 380 crore, and only Rs 21.1 crore has been spent till February 2025," he said in a post on X.

"This is partly because of low interest in the programme. Companies extended 82,000 offers under this programme - but only 28,000 were accepted and only 8,725 candidates joined. Therefore, only 7 percent of the students accepted the internships. Many interns have also since left due to dissatisfaction with the internship programmes," Ramesh said.

The Congress leader said this raises serious questions on this programme and on the government's ability to implement one of its flagship schemes.

"This is why the Congress has consistently demanded that the Modi government conduct widespread consultations on the Caste Census - because left to their own devices, this Government will undoubtedly botch it up," Ramesh said.