As the economy faces the challenges of emerging from the lockdown with concerns of unemployment for new entrants to the job market, the Centre has launched a scheme to provide internship opportunities for 25000 fresh graduates with smart cities and urban local bodies.
Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri speaking at the launch of The Urban Learning Internship Programme (TULIP) on Thursday said that the internship opportunity will help graduates become market ready and will give them multiple options.
The TULIP scheme is a 5 year joint venture between MoHUA and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The scheme featured in the 2020 Budget speech.
A dedicated portal has been launched where city administration can register available opportunities across domains like urban planning, water supply, waste management and digital governance. Applicants must be Indian citizens who have completed their final year of college within the last 18 months. The duration of the internship can range from 8 weeks to 1 year. However, there is clarity on whether the internship comes with a stipend. The smart cities and urban local bodies are free to chart out their own selection procedure.
Though the programme does not have a budget of its own, the 100 smart cities and 4,400 urban local bodies can use the administrative expenses allocated by the Centre to pay for stipends and other perks.