PM internship scheme: 30% offers accepted in second pilot so far

The second round of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme’s (PMIS’) pilot programme saw only 30 per cent of the total offers made by companies accepted by the candidates, according to a statement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. 

 

This is less than the number of offers (34 per cent) accepted in round one of the pilot. 

 

The written reply in Lok Sabha stated that in the second round, which started on January 9, 2025, companies posted 82,110 internship opportunities, and 24,131 were accepted as of August 12, 2025. In the first round, which began on October 3, 2024, 82,077 offers were made and 28,141 were accepted.

 

The government said that location considerations, duration of internship, and pursuance of higher education are among the reasons for applicants not accepting the offers or not joining the internships made under the pilot project, according to feedback received from various stakeholders, such as candidates, industry & industry associations, and state governments. 

 

“The full-scale roll-out of the PMIS would be based on the feedback received from the stakeholder consultations and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the pilot project,” the written response by Sitharaman said.  

 

Among states, Andhra Pradesh had the highest number of applications. The state received 75,206 applications, 10,899 offers by companies, of which 2,809 were accepted.  

 

The second-highest number of offers made by companies was in Ladakh (9,055), of which 2,283 were accepted, followed by Nagaland (7,025), of which 1,765 were accepted. 

 

Earlier in the monsoon session, the Standing Committee on Finance, in its report, said that the PMIS needs to have periodic independent evaluations for transparency and relaxed eligibility norms for marginalised and economically weaker candidates. 

 

The report highlighted that without adequate support for living expenses, candidates from remote or underserved regions may be unable to participate, which would hinder the programme’s inclusivity and potential to attract a diverse pool of talent. 

 

The Committee called for broader engagement with SMEs, startups, and regional stakeholders.

 

The scheme was allocated ₹2,000 crore in the Budget Estimates of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), which was ₹380 crore in the Revised Estimates.