With months left for the Maharashtra Assembly election, the Eknath Shinde-led government has come out with a internship scheme for unemployed youth. The scheme, which the Chief Minister said is for “ladka bhau”, will see spending of Rs 5,500 crore on the internship programme.
Speaking at a public event in Pandarpur on Tuesday, Eknath Shinde made a reference to the ‘Mazi Ladki Bahini Yojana’, which was introduced in the state Budget to empower and provide financial support to young women.
“Many people asked, you made efforts for ladki bahini, what about ladka bhau (dear brother)? So, we have now done it for Ladka Bhau as well,” he said, pointing at a similar scheme for young men.
“Under this scheme, Rs 6,000 will be given to those who passed Class 12, Rs 8,000 for those with ITI and diploma, and Rs 12,000 per month for those with a graduate degree,” he added.
Although the Chief Minister made reference to ‘Ladka Bhau’ in his address, the internship scheme, Mukhyamantri Yuva Karya Prashikshan Yojana, is not exclusively for men.
Notably, last month, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray backed the Maharashtra government’s decision to implement “Ladki Bahini” scheme and demanded a similar policy for men as well.
“As the government plans to introduce various welfare schemes, one of which is the Ladli Behna scheme like in Madhya Pradesh, I welcome it and ask that this scheme be extended to boys too. Why discriminate? Both girls and boys should benefit from this,” Uddhav Thackeray said.
This scheme, which was announced in Budget 2024-25 presented by state Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, aims to enhance the employability and skill set of the youth and prepare them for a competitive job market.
The Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is implementing agency of the scheme along with the Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan Kaksh (Chief Minister’s Welfare Cell), has released a resolution on the scheme. According to this document, the eligible candidates should be between the ages of 18 and 35 and residents of Maharashtra.
The internships will be for six months and the candidates will receive their monthly stipend through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
The eligibility criteria for employers include working in Maharashtra, being registered with the Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation web portal as an employer, being established for three years, being registered with EPF, ESIC, GST, DPIT, and Udyog Aadhaar, and having a certificate of incorporation.
