New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) on Wednesday announced that more than one lakh internship opportunities would be provided by reputed companies to students with a view to create a skilled workforce, according to an official statement.

The companies include Salesforce, CISCO, Mahatma Gandhi National Council for Rural Education (MGNCRE) and RSB Transmission India Limited.

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Increasing the employable opportunities for students is the highest priority of the education ministry and for that, the AICTE has created its internship portal to facilitate students in getting internship opportunities for integrating classroom knowledge and theory with practical application, it said.

Launching the internship scheme, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "I must take this opportunity to congratulate the companies for contributing to nation-building. It is commendable that they have taken the responsibility of training college-going engineering and humanities students."

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"We would like to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio from 27 per cent to 65 per cent. I am happy that the wheels of the chariot of the National Educational Policy 2020 have started rolling with the launch of this programme," he said.

The minister also said that every matured economy needs a skilled workforce and in this year's budget, a lot of emphasis has been put on creating it.

"I think such programmes will help in creating a skilled workforce," Pradhan said.

AICTE Chairman, Anil Sahasrabudhe said that it is very exciting that they are offering one lakh internship opportunities.

Currently, the AICTE has over 15.1 lakhs internships -- full time, part time or virtual mode -- available on the portal from various ministries, government departments, private companies, start-ups, and MSMEs, the statement said.

The AICTE has formulated its internship policy for students of technical education, which mandates internships for all undergraduate and diploma students.

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