Congress Accuses Centre of Copying Poll Promise, Criticizes PMIS for Failing to Deliver on Job Skills

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president and MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday accused the union government of copying the Congress’s ‘Pehli Naukri Pakki’ poll promise. He claimed the centre has failed to implement the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS) effectively, citing low enrolment and completion rates. Tagore alleged that the scheme was being used to provide cheap labour to corporate entities rather than equip young people with professional skills and improve their employment prospects. In a statement, Tagore alleged that PMIS was introduced without understanding the objectives of the Congress proposal, which envisaged a year-long, legally guaranteed apprenticeship for young people. He said the scheme, which aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youths over five years, had witnessed a decline in applications across its first three rounds. Citing official data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, he said applications fell from 6.21 lakh in the first round to 4.55 lakh in the second and 3.5 lakh in the third. He also pointed to the low uptake of internship opportunities offered under the scheme. Of the 1,27,508 opportunities available in the first round, only 8,760 candidates joined. In the second round, 7,308 candidates joined and in the third round, 25,794 candidates received offers against 1,54,366 opportunities and only 14,620 joined, he said. Questioning the quality of training provided under the programme, the Congress leader said even among those who joined, only 3,731 completed training in the first round and 2,880 in the second round. “The country’s youth need genuine skill development and dignified employment opportunities, not publicity campaigns and empty promises,” he said.