Lok Sabha Question No. 2618 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) in West Bengal
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Saumitra Khan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2618 ANSWERED ON MONDAY THE 9 TH  MARCH, 2026 PHALGUNA 18, 1947 (SAKA)

## PRIME MINISTER INTERNSHIP SCHEME (PMIS) IN WEST BENGAL QUESTION

2618. Shri Saumitra Khan:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of internship opportunities posted by partner companies under Round I and Round II of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) in West Bengal along with the details of the cities in which these internship positions were offered;
- (b) the number of applications received, offers made and internship acceptances recorded  in  both  rounds  of  PMIS,  State-wise,  with  district-wise  data  for  West Bengal;
- (c) whether the Government has undertaken any analysis for non-acceptance of offers or low joining rates in West Bengal and if so, the findings thereof;
- (d)  whether  any  specific  steps  have  been  taken  to  improve  participation  and internship completion in aspirational and educationally backward districts of the State, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the roadmap for expansion of PMIS and proposals received from the Government of West Bengal?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

[SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA]

- (a): The total number of internship opportunities posted by partner companies in West Bengal are 4577 and 4428 for Round I and Round II respectively. The city-wise data in respect of internship opportunities is not maintained.
- (b): The details of number of applications received, offers made by the companies and offers accepted by candidates under Round I and Round II of PMIS state-wise and district-wise for West Bengal, are at Annexure I and II respectively.
- (c): The analysis for non-acceptance of offers or low joining rates has been done for the entire country including West Bengal.

On the basis of independent evaluation and feedback survey carried out by the Ministry  of  Corporate  Affairs,  outbound  calls  made  by  the  call  center  to  the candidates and feedback received from various stakeholders, such as candidates, industry & industry associations and state governments, some of the reasons for low acceptance / joining which have been observed are given below:

- Location  is  an  important  consideration  and  ideal  travel  distance indicated by candidates is between 5-10 km.
- Internship period of 12 months is longer than that in normal skilling programs.
- Some candidates are not interested in roles offered.

(d): No special steps have been taken for such districts of West Bengal. However, following major steps were taken to improve the implementation and outcomes of the scheme throughout the country including West Bengal:-

1. Portal Improvement:  functionality for geo-tagging internship location, moving  vacancies  and  candidates  between  one  location  to  another  and, more visibility of additional benefits given by companies to the candidates.
2. Targeted Information, Education and Communications (IEC) activities
3. Active  engagement  and  coordination  with  States,  UTs,  Ministries  and Departments  of  the  Central  Government  and  Industry  Associations  for enhancing the outreach of the scheme.
4. Active engagement with industry to ensure meaningful internship experience  for  the  interns  to  enhance  their  skills  and  employability, including reporting of quarterly progress of the interns by the companies.

(e): The Pilot Project is a pivotal phase that allows for testing concepts, strategies and systems before a full-scale implementation. Based on the feedback received and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the Pilot Project, lessons drawn will be factored in while rolling out the first phase of the main scheme.

No proposal has been received from the Government of West Bengal.

*****

Annexure I to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 2618 to be answered on 09.03.2026. State-wise details of the number of applications received, offers made to candidates and offers accepted by candidates in Round I

| S. No.   | States                                   |   Total Applications received |   Total Offers Made by Companies |   Offers Accepted by the Candidates |
|----------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 1        | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS              |                            60 |                               20 |                                   7 |
| 2        | ANDHRA PRADESH                           |                         62405 |                             6164 |                                1970 |
| 3        | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                        |                           122 |                               29 |                                  14 |
| 4        | ASSAM                                    |                         26785 |                             3843 |                                1780 |
| 5        | BIHAR                                    |                         47706 |                             5668 |                                2418 |
| 6        | CHANDIGARH                               |                           578 |                              117 |                                  35 |
| 7        | CHHATTISGARH                             |                         13977 |                             2284 |                                 806 |
| 8        | DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN AND DIU |                           137 |                               40 |                                  12 |
| 9        | DELHI                                    |                         17863 |                             2698 |                                1000 |
| 10       | GOA                                      |                           132 |                               28 |                                   7 |
| 11       | GUJARAT                                  |                         20109 |                             4541 |                                1019 |
| 12       | HARYANA                                  |                         40064 |                             5990 |                                1293 |
| 13       | HIMACHAL PRADESH                         |                          3175 |                              929 |                                 177 |
| 14       | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                        |                          5159 |                              769 |                                 296 |
| 15       | JHARKHAND                                |                         14721 |                             2699 |                                1075 |
| 16       | KARNATAKA                                |                         23115 |                             3098 |                                 980 |
| 17       | KERALA                                   |                         12105 |                             1938 |                                 524 |
| 19       | LADAKH                                   |                            93 |                               34 |                                  17 |
| 19       | LAKSHADWEEP                              |                             0 |                                0 |                                   0 |
| 20       | MADHYA PRADESH                           |                         67224 |                             6244 |                                2058 |
| 21       | MAHARASHTRA                              |                         23945 |                             3718 |                                1188 |
| 22       | MANIPUR                                  |                           343 |                               71 |                                  37 |
| 23       | MEGHALAYA                                |                           231 |                               45 |                                  27 |
| 24       | MIZORAM                                  |                            27 |                                5 |                                   2 |
| 25       | NAGALAND                                 |                           256 |                               58 |                                  28 |
| 26       | ODISHA                                   |                         24290 |                             3267 |                                1329 |
| 27       | PUDUCHERRY                               |                           631 |                              105 |                                  33 |
| 28       | PUNJAB                                   |                          3101 |                              742 |                                 223 |
| 29       | RAJASTHAN                                |                         27814 |                             4314 |                                1410 |
| 30       | SIKKIM                                   |                            41 |                               15 |                                   8 |
| 31       | TAMIL NADU                               |                         15635 |                             2347 |                                 672 |
| 32       | TELANGANA                                |                         37386 |                             4439 |                                1379 |
| 33       | TRIPURA                                  |                          1098 |                              200 |                                 110 |
| 34       | UTTAR PRADESH                            |                        108317 |                            11563 |                                4656 |
| 35       | UTTARAKHAND                              |                          3395 |                              622 |                                 230 |
| 36       | WEST BENGAL                              |                         19922 |                             3433 |                                1321 |
| Total    | Total                                    |                        621962 |                            82077 |                               28141 |

## State-wise details of the number of applications received, offers made to candidates and offers accepted by candidates in Round II

| S. No.   | States                                       |   Applications received | Total Offers Made by Companies   |   Offers Accepted by the Candidates |
|----------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 1        | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS                  |                      34 | 8                                |                                   4 |
| 2        | ANDHRA PRADESH                               |                   75206 | 11095                            |                                2868 |
| 3        | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                            |                      75 | 19                               |                                   8 |
| 4        | ASSAM                                        |                    7157 | 2349                             |                                1255 |
| 5        | BIHAR                                        |                   33125 | 5698                             |                                1607 |
| 6        | CHANDIGARH                                   |                     257 | 65                               |                                  13 |
| 7        | CHHATTISGARH                                 |                   15344 | 3820                             |                                 894 |
| 8        | DELHI                                        |                      81 | 1302                             |                                 451 |
| 9        | GOA                                          |                    6260 | 54                               |                                  14 |
| 10       | GUJARAT                                      |                     252 | 3005                             |                                 629 |
| 11       | HARYANA                                      |                   12405 | 1780                             |                                 601 |
| 12       | HIMACHAL PRADESH                             |                    6943 | 410                              |                                 106 |
| 13       | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                            |                    1261 | 939                              |                                 329 |
| 14       | JHARKHAND                                    |                    5517 | 1454                             |                                 624 |
| 15       | KARNATAKA                                    |                    4828 | 2409                             |                                 751 |
| 16       | KERALA                                       |                   12275 | 1653                             |                                 660 |
| 17       | LADAKH                                       |                    6060 | 9                                |                                   3 |
| 18       | LAKSHADWEEP                                  |                      57 | 1                                |                                   1 |
| 19       | MADHYA PRADESH                               |                       2 | 9330                             |                                2353 |
| 20       | MAHARASHTRA                                  |                   50482 | 5427                             |                                1616 |
| 21       | MANIPUR                                      |                   27342 | 32                               |                                  18 |
| 22       | MEGHALAYA                                    |                     117 | 53                               |                                  15 |
| 23       | MIZORAM                                      |                     157 | 3                                |                                   2 |
| 24       | NAGALAND                                     |                       6 | 44                               |                                  12 |
| 25       | ODISHA                                       |                      91 | 7242                             |                                1848 |
| 26       | PUDUCHERRY                                   |                   65239 | 58                               |                                  11 |
| 27       | PUNJAB                                       |                     269 | 2255                             |                                 472 |
| 28       | RAJASTHAN                                    |                    7738 | 6213                             |                                1342 |
| 29       | SIKKIM                                       |                   32288 | 25                               |                                   4 |
| 30       | TAMIL NADU                                   |                      93 | 1942                             |                                 656 |
| 31       | TELANGANA                                    |                    9970 | 4071                             |                                1314 |
|          | THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN AND DIU |                   27201 |                                  |                                   7 |
| 32 33    | TRIPURA                                      |                    4536 | 20 1091                          |                                 339 |
| 34       | UTTAR PRADESH                                |                   32105 | 7085                             |                                2761 |
| 35       | UTTARAKHAND                                  |                    1541 | 388                              |                                 137 |
| 36       | WEST BENGAL                                  |                    8953 | 2347                             |                                 913 |
| Total    | Total                                        |                  455267 | 83696                            |                               24638 |

## Annexure II

Annexure II to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. No. 2618 to be answered on 09.03.2026. District-wise  details  of  the  number  of  applications  received  from  West  Bengal, offers made to candidates from West Bengal and offers accepted by candidates from West Bengal under Round I.

| S. No.      | Districts          |   Applications Received |   Offers Made by companies |   Offers Accepted by candidates |
|-------------|--------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1           | Alipurduar         |                     374 |                         34 |                              14 |
| 2           | Bankura            |                     824 |                        148 |                              59 |
| 3           | Birbhum            |                     792 |                        109 |                              45 |
| 4           | Cooch Behar        |                     597 |                         63 |                              29 |
| 5           | Dakshin Dinajpur   |                     244 |                         31 |                              10 |
| 6           | Darjeeling         |                     255 |                         51 |                              18 |
| 7           | Hooghly            |                    1411 |                        250 |                              91 |
| 8           | Howrah             |                     958 |                        193 |                              74 |
| 9           | Jalpaiguri         |                     419 |                         63 |                              18 |
| 10          | Jhargram           |                     258 |                         51 |                              21 |
| 11          | Kalimpong          |                      16 |                          2 |                               1 |
| 12          | Kolkata            |                    1819 |                        332 |                             125 |
| 13          | Malda              |                     803 |                        112 |                              46 |
| 14          | Murshidabad        |                     719 |                        119 |                              51 |
| 15          | Nadia              |                     856 |                        174 |                              62 |
| 16          | North 24 Paraganas |                    2368 |                        444 |                             165 |
| 17          | Paschim Bardhaman  |                     979 |                        212 |                              86 |
| 18          | Paschim Medinipur  |                    1138 |                        194 |                              84 |
| 19          | Purba Bardhaman    |                    1116 |                        185 |                              65 |
| 20          | Purba Medinipur    |                    1285 |                        246 |                              89 |
| 21          | Purulia            |                     664 |                         88 |                              27 |
| 22 South    | 24 Paraganas       |                    1607 |                        281 |                             118 |
| 23          | Uttar Dinajpur     |                     420 |                         51 |                              23 |
| Grand Total |                    |                   19922 |                       3433 |                            1321 |

District-wise  details  of  the  number  of  applications  received  from  West  Bengal, offers made to candidates from West Bengal and offers accepted by candidates from West Bengal under Round II.

| S. No.             | Districts          |   Applications Received |   Offers Made by companies | Offers Accepted by candidates   |
|--------------------|--------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1                  | Alipurduar         |                      90 |                         26 | 12                              |
| 2                  | Bankura            |                     307 |                         98 | 32                              |
| 3                  | Birbhum            |                     235 |                         70 | 24                              |
| 4                  | Cooch Behar        |                     174 |                         57 | 22                              |
| 5 Dakshin Dinajpur | 108                |                      38 |                         18 |                                 |
| 6                  | Darjeeling         |                     166 |                         47 | 17                              |
| 7                  | Hooghly            |                     710 |                        185 | 69                              |
| 8                  | Howrah             |                     565 |                        149 | 51                              |
| 9                  | Jalpaiguri         |                     166 |                         52 | 21                              |
| 10                 | Jhargram           |                      84 |                         17 | 6                               |
| 11                 | Kalimpong          |                      10 |                          1 | 1                               |
| 12                 | Kolkata            |                    1032 |                        210 | 90                              |
| 13                 | Malda              |                     267 |                         94 | 37                              |
| 14                 | Murshidabad        |                     276 |                         74 | 29                              |
| 15                 | Nadia              |                     414 |                         85 | 37                              |
| 16                 | North 24 Paraganas |                    1295 |                        291 | 98                              |
| 17                 | Paschim Bardhaman  |                     509 |                        155 | 76                              |
| 18 Paschim         | Medinipur          |                     462 |                        109 | 45                              |
| 19                 | Bardhaman          |                     412 |                        108 | 44                              |
| 20                 | Purba Medinipur    |                     557 |                        173 | 70                              |
| 21                 | Purulia            |                     265 |                         94 | 35                              |
| 22                 | South 24 Paraganas |                     649 |                        154 | 59                              |
| 23                 | Uttar Dinajpur     |                     200 |                         60 | 20                              |
| Grand Total        |                    |                    8953 |                       2347 | 913                             |

*****