Tweaks on the anvil for PM internship scheme

The government is likely to introduce some tweaks in its Prime Minister Internship Scheme when it rolls out the third phase. According to sources, there could be some further relaxations in the age and educational criteria for applicants as well as a revamp of the current portal for applications to make it easier to use. 

“There have been several rounds of discussions between the government and the private sector and potential employers as well as applicants to understand how the scheme can be improved further. Based on that, the third phase of the scheme could see some revisions in its model so that more applicants will be encouraged to apply and accept internship opportunities,” said two persons familiar with the development.

An announcement to this end could be made in the coming weeks, they indicated.

One of the options being looked at is a relaxation in the age and educational qualifications of the applicants, sources indicated, adding that this would encourage more candidates to apply under the scheme.  Travel and moving to a different location for the internship is also seen as another problem by several applicants, who face costs of relocation and boarding and lodging.

At present, candidates between the age of 21 and 24 years old, who have passed at least Class 10, can intern for a 12-month period under the scheme.

The PM Internship Scheme aims to place 10 million candidates over a five-year period in top 500 companies. The list of the top 500 companies is based on their average Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure in the last three years and participation is voluntary. The government will pay them Rs 4,500 monthly stipend and the company will pay another Rs 500 per month to each candidate. The Centre has been launching the scheme in pilot phases to understand how it works and review it to meet the needs of employers as well as applicants.

The first round of the scheme’s pilot project was launched on October 3 and over 127,000 internship opportunities were provided. A total of 28,141 applicants accepted offers at the time as per data shared with Parliament by the ministry of corporate affairs. Sources indicated that just about 8,000 to 10,000 applicants finally joined the internship with challenges over moving costs being seen as a key issue.

The second round of the pilot project was initiated in January 2025 companies have posted more than 118,000 lakh opportunities (both new and edited unfilled opportunities of previous round) across the country, minister of state for corporate affairs Harsh Malhotra recently informed the Rajya Sabha. “The application process of the candidates for the Round II of the PMIS Pilot Project is ongoing,” he said.

The ministry of corporate affairs has recently also extended the deadline for registration under the second phase of the pilot project to March 31.