Parliamentary panel seeks time-bound action plan for PM Internship Scheme

The PMIS was announced in the Budget 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs 63,000 crore over five years for the main scheme, which is yet to commence

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday has called for a time-bound action plan along with performance indicators and a structured support system for travel, relocation and accommodation especially for women candidates and rural youth under the ongoing pilot of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS). 

 

The committee in a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday took note of the underutilisation of funds allotted to the scheme managed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). It stated that “...alignment of budget projections with realistic uptake capacity and phased rollout plans has not been adequately addressed, as the ministry has merely attributed the expenditure shortfall to the continuation of the pilot project.”

 

The PMIS was announced in the 2024-25 Budget with a total outlay of ₹63,000 crore over five years for the main scheme which is yet to commence. A budget of ₹ 2,000 crore was allocated for FY25 for the pilot stage and ₹10831.07 crore for FY26 towards the main scheme. 

 

Of the budget allocated for the pilot in FY25, the actual expenditure was only ₹29.29 crore. The house panel said this showed overestimation of absorptive capacity and slower-than-anticipated implementation.

 

The committee noted that while more than 2,45,000 internship opportunities were posted across two rounds of the pilot phase and over 350 companies participated, only 16,060 candidates joined the scheme. “The dropout rate in Round I was as high as 53.6 per cent,” the report said. 

 

“The committee desires that the ministry undertake a comprehensive recalibration of the scheme based on the learnings from the pilot phase and furnish a detailed, time-bound action plan along with measurable performance indicators prior to full-scale implementation,” the report noted. 

 

On March 12, MCA revised the guidelines for PMIS, expanding the eligibility criteria to 18-25 years from 21-24 years, enhancing monthly assistance to ₹9,000, and allowing a flexible duration of six to nine months instead of a year depending on the nature of the internship.  

The panel also asked the ministry to ensure that the National Financial Reporting Authority undertakes sectoral studies in industries such as oil, energy, and insurance where accounting practices and risk profiles may differ significantly to identify industry-specific audit quality concerns. 

 

Panel calls for expediting Digital Competition Bill

 

In a separate report, the standing committee chaired by MP Bhartruhari Mahtab asked the ministry to expedite the introduction of the Digital Competition Bill with a clear road map to ensure timely and effective regulation of large digital platforms, and to include virtual assistants and cloud services within the framework. The committee has also sought a review of the current deal value threshold (DVT) of ₹2,000 crore and adoption of a review method which is risk-based, sector-specific.

 

Stressing the need to protect MSMEs and innovative startups, the panel said that the “one-size-fits-all” DVT may fail to protect the digital ecosystem from gradual monopolisation, as dominant platforms continue to leverage invisible market distortions — such as data silos and algorithmic self-preferencing.   

 

The committee said that the pending bill has left a critical regulatory gap at a time when digital markets are expanding rapidly. 

 

The panel’s comments come at a time when the MCA has decided to adopt an evidence based approach in finalising the draft Bill. The ministry will conduct a market study to assess appropriate qualitative and quantitative thresholds, review core digital services, and evaluate the impact of the proposed ex-ante framework on competition, innovation, and market entry.