The Congress has alleged that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman borrowed elements from its 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto, specifically the apprenticeship program named pehli naukri pakki (first job guaranteed).
Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge labeled it a “copy and paste budget”, while party leader Jairam Ramesh accused Sitharaman of ‘taking a leaf’ from the Congress manifesto.
Ramesh wrote on X, “The finance minister has taken a leaf out of the INC’s Nyay Patra 2024, with its internship programme clearly modelled on the INC’s proposed Apprenticeship Program that was called Pehli Naukri Pakki.”
Let’s take a closer look:
What was the election promise?
According to the Indian Express, the Congress had developed a “right to apprenticeship program” entitled pehli naukri pakki (first job guaranteed).
The Congress pledged that every degree or diploma holder under the age of 25 would receive apprenticeship training with a private or public sector company.
This would ensure they earn at least Rs 1 lakh per year.
“The apprenticeship will impart skills, enhance employability and provide full-time job opportunities for millions of youth,” the Congress manifesto stated.
“We brought MNREGA which benefitted lakhs of people. Pehli naukri pakki is going to be a scheme like that,” Rahul said at a rally in Rajasthan, as per Hindustan Times.
The Congress also vowed to establish “a new employment-linked incentive (ELI) scheme for corporates.”
“The Congress will reform the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme to target specific sectors that can create thousands of jobs by making India one of the top 5 producers in the world in that sector. We will introduce a new employment-linked incentive (ELI) Scheme for corporates to win tax credits for additional hiring against regular, quality jobs,” the manifesto read.
Did the Budget draw from it?
On Tuesday, Sitharaman announced a “comprehensive scheme for offering internship opportunities.”
“As the fifth scheme under the Prime Minister’s package, our government will launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to one crore youth in five years. They will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environments, varied professions and employment opportunities,” Sitharaman said.
According to NDTV, Sitharaman announced an internship allowance of Rs 5,000 per month along with a one-time assistance of Rs 6,000.
She mentioned that companies would cover the cost of training and allocate 10 percent of their internship expenses from their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.
Sitharaman also introduced other employment schemes, including a one-time allowance for new private sector employees.
This includes providing Rs 15,000 in three installments to those earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month.
Sitharaman stated that the scheme would benefit 2.1 crore youth.
Additionally, she offered an incentive to employers in the manufacturing sector for hiring first-time employees.
“An incentive will be provided at a specified scale directly to the employee and employer with respect to the EPFO contribution in the first four years of employment. This scheme is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth… and their employers,” Sitharaman was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“All additional employment within a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month will be counted,” she added.
She stated that the Centre would reimburse employers up to Rs 3,000 per month for two years towards the EPFO contribution for each additional employee.
According to the Indian Express, the government also announced the establishment of working women hostels to boost women’s participation in the workforce.
This initiative was also included in the Congress manifesto.
“In partnership with state governments, the Central government will double the number of working women hostels in the country, with at least one Savitribai Phule Hostel in each district,” the Congress manifesto had stated.
Congress slams Sitharaman
“The Finance Minister has taken a leaf out of the INC’s Nyay Patra 2024, with its internship program clearly modelled on the INC’s proposed Apprenticeship Program that was called Pehli Naukri Pakki. However, in their trademark style, the scheme has been designed to grab headlines, with arbitrary targets (1 crore internships) rather than a programmatic guarantee for all diploma holders and graduates, like the Indian National Congress had envisioned,” Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh said.
Congress leader P Chidambaram also entered the debate.
“I am also happy that she has introduced the Apprenticeship scheme along with an allowance to every apprentice spelt out on page 11 of the Congress Manifesto. I wish the FM had copied some other ideas in the Congress manifesto,” Chidambaram said.