PM's Internship Scheme: What's working, what's not, what it teaches youth

A look at the varied experiences of Prime Minister's Internship Scheme - what's working, what's not, and what it's teaching India's youth

At the Pune office of a technology major, Yash Padwalkar from Solapur (Maharashtra) began by upskilling in Cloud computing and data engineering before gradually taking on real tasks. A BTech in computer engineering from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Padwalkar says when he applied for the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS), he didn’t even own a laptop. “I was learning programming on YouTube, on my phone.”

 

Besides a laptop, the scheme, he adds, gave him access to premium learning resources and the kind of industry exposure that would have otherwise been elusive. 

Running as a pilot project since October 2024, the scheme aims to bring India’s youth up to speed with the skill sets the industry requires. It intends to do so by providing year-long internships to 10 million youth in India’s top 500 companies over five years. 

An assessment of the first round, currently underway, shows that for many, the scheme has served as a transformative entry point into the professional world, though the experience varies by industry, company and individual initiative. A close look at the journeys of some of the interns reveals both shared themes and contrasting outcomes. 

Across the board, interns describe a depth of engagement that often exceeds what traditional internships offer. However, how quickly they access meaningful work depends largely on personal initiative and the host organisation’s culture. 

For Padwalkar, the learning curve was steep but supported: “There is a manager who explains things, gives us deadlines, and encourages us to figure things out ourselves.” If the interns miss the deadlines, they aren’t reprimanded. “Instead, they sit with us, explain what went wrong, and guide us through to a solution.” 

Some, like Sarvesh Bramhane, were thrust into the thick of it from day one. A BTech in computer science from Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Bramhane works at a leading tech firm’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) division in Pune. After initial training, he began contributing to complex projects. 

Others experienced a more measured entry. 

Mahabubabad (Telangana) resident Charan Mood is an example of how initiative pays off. During his internship at the same company’s Hyderabad office, Mood, a BTech in computer science, was given basic tasks to begin with, but managed to get into the thick of things once he sought additional responsibilities. 

While Mood had to reach out to his supervisors for more work, many organisations have appointed mentors who check in on the interns and are in touch with them through phone or email. 

Navigating corporate corridors   Such access is not available to everyone, though. 

Akriti Saxena from Agra (Uttar Pradesh) is currently interning at a hotel chain with a national presence in Pune. She has found the absence of peer groups or structured mentorship a challenge. “Many of us come from regular, middle-class backgrounds — we’re not always sure how to navigate the corporate world. A personal mentor could have made this journey even more meaningful,” she says. 

A senior government official, however, says it is good for an internship to be not structured since the idea is for the intern to move freely across departments and learn widely. “Interns need to understand the difference between a job and an internship, then the expectations would be different, too,” the official says. “There is a lack of awareness, especially in smaller towns, about this, which we are working hard to address.” 

Sougata Roy Choudhury, executive director at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which is working closely with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on the scheme, says they have been doing weekly online open houses with industry to sensitise them about the programme. “There are FAQs given to them on the model of the training. We are trying to help both sides – companies and interns.” 

On its internship portal, the MCA has created a redress mechanism for interns. It has also asked states to appoint a nodal person for feedback and monitoring of the scheme. 

Regardless of their background, all interns Business Standard spoke to said the programme had improved their self-confidence. Saxena says besides teaching new skills, the scheme is helping in personal growth. “I was very introverted. At home, I hardly spoke,” she says. “But here, I had to interact with strangers, solve problems quickly, and take initiative.” 

After the internship, what? 

For many interns, the challenges go beyond the scheme. The uncertainty about post-internship outcomes weighs heavily on many. 

“There’s a lack of clarity around post-internship outcomes,” says Padwalkar. “If we knew upfront that there was a clear pathway to employment, it would be easier to convince our parents why we’re doing this.” 

Several find their parents unable to wrap their heads around the concept of internship, where a person works like in a full-time job but still has to be supported financially. 

“This is especially an issue considering that the internship is 12-month-long,” Padwalkar says. 

That said, the scheme has improved employability, with some of the interns getting approached for jobs by other companies and startups. 

Besides future uncertainties, having relocated from distant cities, many interns also point to the high cost of living in bigger cities. 

Mood says that the stipend of ₹5,000 a month doesn’t come close to covering living costs. “What’s worse is knowing that interns from NITs (National Institutes of Technology) doing similar work in the same company are paid up to ₹70,000 a month.” 

Travelling to far-flung areas even while living in the same city is also burning a hole in their pockets. Jaipur-based Diya Singh, currently interning in the Pune office of a public-sector enterprise, says: “I travel 35 km each day, which costs ₹200 to ₹300. The ₹5,000 stipend doesn’t even cover that.” 

The MCA, under the present scheme, provides a direct benefit transfer of ₹6,000 to the intern on joining and cover under the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima and PM Suraksha Yojana. A financial assistance of ₹5,000 per month is also provided to the intern, of which ₹4,500 is disbursed by the government and ₹500 is to be paid by the company from its corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds. 

Companies can provide assistance over and above the ₹500 if they so wish, and several of them are paying higher stipends to the interns along with additional benefits. 

The challenges the interns point to, meanwhile, are among the reasons the scheme is off to a slow start in the initial phase.

In the first round, the partner companies made over 82,000 internship offers to more than 60,000 candidates. Of these, 28,000 accepted the offer, but eventually only 8,700 joined the internship. The second pilot, meanwhile, has been launched. 

In its report tabled in Parliament on July 31, the Standing Committee on Finance flagged similar challenges. 

The committee said that without adequate support for living expenses, candidates might be unable to participate, thereby hindering the programme’s inclusivity and its potential to attract a diverse pool of talent. The panel also called for periodic independent evaluations for the scheme’s transparency. 

Challenges aside, most interns describe the scheme as a rare and transformative experience. Even as the government finetunes the programme to prepare for the next steps, whether a third pilot or a full-fledged launch, the interns are already spreading the word. As Singh says: “I’ve already encouraged my relatives to apply. I think it’s a good opportunity to explore and learn.”