New Delhi: After a lacklustre response from candidates since its launch in October 2024, the government’s flagship Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) is set to roll out its next round with a higher stipend, relaxed eligibility criteria and a shorter internship duration, ThePrint has learnt.
Under the revised structure, the monthly stipend has been increased to Rs 9,000 from Rs 5,000 earlier. Of this, Rs 8,100 will be paid by the government, while Rs 900 will come from employers through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, government sources told ThePrint.
The age eligibility for candidates has also been expanded to 18-25 years, compared with the earlier 21-24 years, in an attempt to widen the pool of applicants and boost participation by increasing its appeal to the youth.
Another key change is the reduction in internship duration to 6-9 months, down from the earlier 12-month tenure. The final duration of the internship will be decided by the employer, sources said.
The scheme is managed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the official announcement for its next round is expected shortly, with the posting of internship opportunities likely to begin next week.
Announced in the Union Budget 2024-25, the PMIS was officially launched in October 2024 with a 12-month internship period.
Under the original design, candidates were to receive a one-time grant of Rs 6,000 from the Centre and a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000, with Rs 4,500 from the government and Rs 500 from employers through CSR funds.
However, the scheme witnessed low participation and high attrition in its initial pilot rounds due to location constraints, with many candidates unwilling to travel beyond 5-10 km, long duration of internship, and lack of guaranteed employment after competition of internship.
In the first pilot round, which began in October 2024, companies made 60,866 internship offers. Of these, 28,144 offers were accepted but only 8,760 candidates eventually joined.
Attrition during the programme was also significant. As many as 4,702 candidates—or 53.6 percent of those who joined—dropped out midway during the 12-month internship period.
Ultimately, only 3,417 candidates completed the entire internship in the first round.
The second pilot round, launched in April 2025, also saw muted participation. More than 300 companies made 71,195 internship offers but only 24,638 candidates accepted them.
Of these, 7,300 candidates joined physically, while 2,464 candidates (33.7 percent) exited before completing the internship period.
Data on how many candidates will finally complete the second round is not yet available as the internships are scheduled to conclude on or after April this year.
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