71,000 offers made in second round of PM internship pilot project

Over 4.5 lakh applications received for 1.18 lakh internship opportunities in the PM Internship Scheme's second pilot phase; low joining rate noted in first round

The Prime Minister Internship Scheme’s Pilot Project has received applications nearly four times the total 1.18 lakh internship opportunities offered by 327 companies, according to a parliamentary reply. However, these companies have made a total of 71,000 internship offers so far, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

 

“Currently, rolling out of offers and the process of acceptances and joining by interns is in progress,” the reply stated. In the first round of the pilot project, fewer than 15 per cent of candidates who were offered internships ended up joining the scheme.

 

Malhotra said 22 per cent of the total applications in the second round were from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, of whom 16.8 per cent received internship offers.

 

In the first round, partner companies made over 82,000 internship offers to more than 60,000 candidates, out of which over 28,000 accepted the offers. Ultimately, around 8,700 candidates joined their internships.

 

The government has utilised approximately ₹50 crore under the scheme since its inception. For FY26, an allocation of ₹10,831.07 crore has been made in the Union Budget for the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS), according to the reply.

 

Data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) showed that Assam led the states with the highest number of internship candidates at 1,408, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 1,067.

 

Among the participating companies, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited offered the highest number of internships at 841, followed by Oil India Limited with 492 opportunities.

 

In Round II of the PM Internship Scheme Pilot Project, which commenced on 9 January 2025, about 327 partner companies posted over 1.18 lakh internship opportunities. Against these, approximately 4.55 lakh applications were received from more than 2.14 lakh applicants. As of 15 July 2025, Malhotra said, partner companies had made over 71,000 offers.

 

The Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) was announced in the Union Budget for 2024–25. It aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in the top 500 companies over five years.

 

The pilot project, targeting 1.25 lakh internship opportunities in one year, was launched on 3 October 2024.

 

“The shortlisting process is aimed at promoting diversity and social inclusivity in the internship programme through representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Persons with Disabilities in the shortlist sent to the concerned company for further selection as per their respective processes and criteria,” Malhotra informed Parliament.