New Delhi: The Modi government’s flagship Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) is grappling with poor retention and low participation even after 16 months of its launch, according to government data presented Monday in Parliament.
According to a written reply submitted by Minister of State (MoS) for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, nearly 44 percent of interns dropped out midway till January this year since the scheme was rolled out in October 2024.
Of the total 16,060 candidates, who physically joined the programme in two pilot rounds, 7,094 exited before completion, while only 3,417 from the first round—just 21.3 percent—completed the full 12-month internship.
More candidates are expected to complete the programme, as internship completion timelines for the first round, which started from November 2025, will culminate in March 2026, the ministry said. Those in the second round will start completing their internship from April onwards.
The data was provided in light of two separate questions submitted Monday by Trinamool Congress MP Sajda Ahmed and BJP MP Gopal Jee Thakur in the Lok Sabha.
Last month, ThePrint reported that the government is planning a third pilot round with a higher stipend, relaxed age criteria and a shorter internship duration in an attempt to improve candidate participation before roll-out of full-scale scheme.
The weak uptake has begun to reflect in budgetary allocations. The PMIS outlay in the Union Budget 2026–27 has been slashed by over 50 percent to Rs 4,788 crore. The scheme was allocated Rs 10,831 crore in the Budget Estimate for 2025–26, but this was sharply reduced to Rs 526 crore in the 2025-26 Revised Estimates—an almost 95 percent cut.
In December 2025, the government disclosed that only about 30 percent of candidates who accepted internship offers under the PMIS actually joined. Of the 52,600 candidates who accepted offers across two pilot rounds by public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private companies, only 16,060 reported for duty.
Launched in October 2024, the PMIS was aimed at improving youth employability by providing corporate exposure alongside academic learning. Under the pilot phase, the interns are engaged for 12 months and receive a one-time grant of Rs 6,000, along with a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000—Rs 4,500 paid by the government and Rs 500 contributed by employers, largely through CSR funds.
The scheme currently targets candidates aged 21 to 24, who can apply through a dedicated portal or mobile app.
Participation has remained muted across both pilot rounds. The first round saw about 82,000 internship offers, but only around 8,760 candidates joined. The second round, launched in January 2025, saw just about 7,300 interns joining despite tens of thousands of offers and acceptances.
In its reply, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs attributed the low acceptance and high attrition to several factors, including location constraints—many candidates were unwilling to travel beyond 5–10 km—longer internship tenure, as the 12-month duration is longer than most skilling programmes, and limited interest in the roles on offer.
While candidate response remained subdued, corporate participation was relatively strong. In the first round, nearly 82,000 internship offers were made, with over 28,000 candidates accepting them. In the second round, partner companies made around 83,000 offers to nearly 71,000 candidates, with more than 24,600 accepting the final offer.
The minister said the ongoing pilot phase is being used to test the scheme before any nationwide rollout. “Pilot Project is a pivotal phase that has allowed for testing concepts, strategies and systems before a full-scale implementation. The full-scale roll-out of the PM Internship Scheme would be based on the feedback received from the stakeholder consultations and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the Pilot Project,” Malhotra stated.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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