Lok Sabha Question No. 1568 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-09
Subject: Utilisation of Funds under Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri K C Venugopal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1568 ANSWERED ON MONDAY THE 9 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026 MAGHA 20, 1947 (SAKA)

## UTILISATION OF FUNDS UNDER PRIME MINISTER'S INTERNSHIP SCHEM E QUESTION

1568. Shri K C Venugopal:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  reasons  for  the  poor  utilisation  of  funds  under  the  Prime Minister's Internship  Scheme  (PMIS),  wherein  only  about  4%  of  the  allocated  budget  was spent during April-November period of the Financial Year 2025-26;
- (b) whether it is a fact that only about 28,000 were accepted despite over 82,000 internship offers being made in the first round, resulting in a low acceptance rate of around 34%; if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the level of financial assistance provided to interns is a deterrent to participation and if so,  whether the  Government  proposes to revise the stipend structure, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the number of interns who have completed internships under PMIS so far and the outcomes in terms of skill development and employability; and
- (e)  the  corrective  measures  being  taken  to  improve  participation,  utilisation  of funds and overall effectiveness of the PMIS?

## ANSWER

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

[SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA]

(a): For the FY 2025-26, an amount of Rs. 10831.07 crore was allocated to Ministry of Corporate Affairs for PM Internship Scheme at Budget Estimate stage and the same was revised to Rs. 526 crore. As an initiation to PM Internship Scheme, a Pilot  Project  was  approved with the budget of Rs. 840 crore in the FY 2024-25. During FY 2025-26, as on 31.12.2025, Rs. 64.91 crore has been utilized towards the pilot project of the PM Internship Scheme.

- (b)  &  (c):  In  the  Round  I  of  the  PM  Internship  Scheme  Pilot  Project,  Partner companies made over 82,000 internship offers to over 60,000 candidates and out of  which  over  28000  candidates  accepted  offers.  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.

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. (d): The PM Internship Scheme is designed to enhance industry-relevant skills, improve  job  readiness,  and  foster  professional  exposure  through  structured internships  in  India's  top -performing  companies  and  institutions  to  create  jobready, skilled workforce. The scheme is not designed to provide placements. The duration of internship offered under the Pilot Project being of 12 months, the completion dates of internship under Round I are from November 2025 to March 2026 and under Round II are from April 2026 onwards, depending on the date of joining  of  the  interns.  As  on  27.01.2026,  3417  interns  from  Round  I  have completed the internship. Based  on  the  learning  during  the  implementation  of  the  Prime  Minister Internship  Pilot  Project,  following  major  steps  were  taken  to  improve  the

(e): 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.
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