The government on Tuesday revised an existing scheme on apprenticeship by introducing direct benefit transfer (DBT) after announcing an internship scheme in the budget.

Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the National Apprenticeship and Training Scheme 2.0 Portal to enable aspiring apprentices and companies to register for apprenticeships for which the education ministry is mandated to bear part of the stipend.

The education ministry has been running the scheme since the early 1960s after the enactment of the Apprentices Act, 1961.

In 2023-24, nearly 2.5 lakh graduates and diploma holders got on-the-job training after completing their courses.

Till now, the education ministry has been giving its share of the stipend to private firms.

Under the revised scheme, the education ministry will pay 50 per cent of the stipend subject to a maximum ₹4,500 a month to a graduate and ₹4,000 per month to a diploma apprentice. The remaining costs will be borne by the companies. The ministry will transfer its share to the bank account of the apprentices.

Pradhan disbursed stipends worth ₹100 crore to apprentices through the DBT mode on Wednesday and appealed to educational institutions and industries to join the NATS 2.0 portal.

An official said nearly one lakh graduates and diploma holders from technical and non-technical courses would get training opportunities. The apprentices would undergo training for six months to one year in sectors such as IT/ITes, manufacturing and automobile.

Prof G.R.C. Reddy, former director of NIT Warangal, expressed doubts about the success of the revised scheme without focusing on the quality of education. He said apprenticeships and jobs were two different things. The private firms will only recruit if they find the candidate suitable in terms of their expectations.

“Earlier, the private firms were giving regular jobs to the apprentices after they completed their training. But
over the years, the quality of education has suffered. If the quality of education is improved and only the focus is on on-the-job training, it won’t help much. The private firms may provide apprenticeships but they will not give them jobs. In such a case, it will be another freebie scheme,” Reddy said.

Former NIT Rourkela director Prof Sunil Sarangi hailed the government initiative as a welcome step. However, he said it might not be fully successful as the focus of students and parents was more on government jobs.

“In India, officers get more respect than skilled workers. So people study in ITIs and polytechnics only to get certificates so that they can get a government job, not to acquire skills. Given this psychology of the people, the scheme may not deliver to a great extent,” Sarangi said.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced three Employment-Linked Incentive (ELI) schemes and a scheme on internship in the budget for 2024-25. The details of the schemes have not been finalised yet.