NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech last week that the government is planning an internship scheme for engineers with urban local bodies but officials in the Union Human Resources Development Ministry say that detailed contours of the scheme is yet to be worked out.A
Officials in the ministry and All India Council for Technical Education also pointed out that the plan could be an extension of an initiative by the All India Council for Technical Education to promote quality engineering training in private institutions across the country.
After making it mandatory for all B Tech students in the country to mandatorily undergo internship in 2017-the Council has also assumed the role of a facilitator to get more government departments, companies and industries to open their doors for engineers in training.
While nearly ten lakh students get engineering degrees every year, only about 3 lakh completed internships during their 4-year long programme before 2017.
"Internships are necessary for students and help them improvise on soft skills, entrepreneurial and leadership abilities, team spirit and societal commitment, besides exposure in their chosen fields," said Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman, AICTE.
He added that the declaration by the FM could mean special budgetary provision towards the scheme. "Alternately, the government may provide funds to government offices offering internships or some stipend could be given to students through direct cash transfer-the details of the announcement is not clear yet," he added.
The initiative is set to benefit students from all streams of engineering.
Through the AICTE initiative so far, 1.5 lakh students have registered for internship so far and the internship providers on board include Union Ministry of Medium and Small enterprises, National Highway Authority of India and offices of nearly 150 district magistrates among others.
Neetu Bhagat, deputy director with the AICTE said that last year, the Council, through the state chief secretaries had written to all 731 DMs in the country out of which 150 had shown interest.
"Many students have already benefited under this move as the internship experience with government organizations help them understand the planning and implementation of various initiatives of state and central government," she added.
She also shared a "success story" from such training from Jalgaon in Maharashtra where the students of KCES' College of Engineering and Information Technology along with the district administration, helped Chinchkheda village revive an old pond and helped people solve the water crisis.