Lok Sabha Question No. 249 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Performance and Youth Employment  in PM Internship Scheme
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Azad Kirti Jha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 249 ANSWERED ON MONDAY THE 2 ND  FEBRUARY, 2026 MAGHA 13, 1947 (SAKA)

## PERFORMANCE AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN PM INTERNSHIP SCHEME QUESTION

249. Shri Azad Kirti Jha:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the reasons for the low acceptance and joining rates under the Prime Minister Internship  Scheme  (PMIS)  pilot,  wherein  out  of    over  1.27  lakh  internship opportunities  posted  in  Round  I,  only  about  28,000  offers  were  accepted  and around 8,700 candidate joined, and similar trends were observed in Round II;
- (b) whether the Government acknowledges that the scheme has not achieved its intended objectives of providing quality internship and employment opportunities to youth, despite ambitious targets and significant budgetary support;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the key challenges and gaps identified by the Government  and any independent evaluations that have contributed to low participation and utilisation; and
- (e) the corrective steps being taken to improve implementation, enhance industry linkage and ensure that the scheme delivers meaningful skills and employability outcomes for young aspirants across the country?

## ANSWER

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

[SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA]

(a) to (d): 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.

(e):  Based  on  the  learning  during  the  implementation  of  the  Prime  Minister Internship  Pilot  Project,  following  major  steps  were  taken  to  improve  the implementation and outcomes:

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 on the portal.
5. Companies were asked to report quarterly progress of the interns on the portal.

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