PM Internship Scheme Picks Up: 40,000 Join Third Pilot Round

In news

• About 40,000 candidates have joined the third pilot round of the PM Internship Scheme.
• This is about 2.5 times the turnout of the first two rounds together (16,060).
• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is considering a full rollout next year, without more pilots.

About the scheme

Item	Detail
Announced	Union Budget 2024-25, by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Launched (pilot)	October 2024
Ministry	Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Aim	Give youth real work experience in top companies; improve employability
Target	1 crore internships in 5 years
Portal	PM Internship portal (pminternship.mca.gov.in)

Who can apply

• Age 18 to 25 years (earlier 21 to 24).
• Not in full-time education or full-time job.
• Family income within the limit set by the scheme; no family member in a regular government job.
• Graduates of top institutes and professional courses (for example, IITs, IIMs, CA, MBBS) are not eligible.

Benefits

• Monthly stipend: ₹9,000 (earlier ₹5,000).
  • Government pays 90% of the fixed minimum stipend.
  • Company pays 10%, from its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds; it may add more.
• One-time grant of ₹6,000 for incidental expenses, paid in two instalments.
• Insurance cover under PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and PM Suraksha Bima Yojana.
• Duration: 6 to 9 months (earlier 12 months), set by the company.
• At least half of the internship is in a real job environment, not a classroom.

Changes in the third pilot

• Higher stipend and wider age range.
• Shorter, flexible internships.
• More employers: about 2,000 companies (earlier 500), selected by CSR spending.
• New partners: MSMEs, Global Capability Centres, statutory bodies (e.g. Airports Authority of India) and professional bodies (e.g. ICAI).
• States can nominate up to 20 companies each.
• Outreach through MY Bharat and the National Cadet Corps.

Numbers so far

Round	Youth who joined	Firms making offers
First (from October 2024)	8,760	280
Second (from January 2025)	about 7,300	327
Third (2026, runs till December)	about 40,000	over 500

• Over 1.5 lakh internships posted in the third round.
• Budget: ₹10,831 crore budgeted for 2025-26 was cut to ₹526 crore (revised estimate) due to weak uptake; ₹4,788 crore allotted for 2026-27.

Why it matters

• India has many graduates but industry reports a shortage of skilled workers. Internships bridge this gap.
• Gives first-time job seekers from modest backgrounds access to top firms.
• Uses CSR money for skilling, not just charity.

Concerns

• High dropouts in early rounds: low stipend, distant locations, and mismatch with expectations.
• Internship ≠ job: no guarantee of employment after completion.
• Limited reach in rural and backward districts, where large firms have few offices.

Static connect

• CSR (Section 135, Companies Act, 2013): companies above set thresholds must spend 2% of average net profit of the last three years on CSR.
• Related schemes: Skill India Mission, PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana, National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, Employment Linked Incentive scheme.
• Budget 2024-25: PM's package of five schemes for employment and skilling, including this internship scheme.

Exam relevance: UPSC Prelims and GS-2 (Welfare schemes), GS-3 (Employment, Human resource); TGPSC, APPSC (Schemes, Economy).