The Centre’s flagship Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) has come under renewed scrutiny after a report claimed that the programme is operating nearly 99% behind its intended target, while expenditure on publicity has exceeded the amount paid to interns as stipends. The findings have intensified debate over the effectiveness of one of the government’s largest youth employment initiatives.
Launched with the ambitious goal of providing one crore internship opportunities over five years in India’s top 500 companies, the PM Internship Scheme was designed to improve employability by giving young people practical workplace experience. The initiative is jointly supported by the government and participating companies, with interns receiving a monthly stipend and insurance benefits.
According to the report, however, the programme’s actual implementation has fallen far short of expectations. While thousands of internship positions were advertised and applications received, only a small fraction of selected candidates ultimately joined their assigned internships. This has resulted in the scheme achieving only a tiny percentage of its original annual target.
The report also highlights concerns over spending priorities. It alleges that the government’s expenditure on advertising and promotional campaigns for the internship programme has exceeded the total amount disbursed as stipends to participating interns. Critics argue that greater investment should have been directed toward improving participation, expanding internship quality and strengthening industry partnerships rather than publicity campaigns.
Officials have previously acknowledged challenges in implementation, including high dropout rates, limited awareness among eligible youth and mismatches between available internship locations and candidate preferences. In response, the government has introduced several changes, including allowing companies to recruit interns directly through campus hiring to improve participation and simplify the selection process.
Policy experts have also suggested increasing the monthly stipend and relaxing eligibility conditions to attract more applicants. Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended revising the stipend structure and expanding eligibility after observing lower-than-expected participation during the pilot phase.
Supporters of the scheme argue that large-scale employment programmes often require time to mature and that improvements introduced during subsequent phases could significantly increase participation. They also point to the government’s continued efforts to expand corporate involvement and make internships more accessible across educational institutions.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has continued to refine the programme by introducing new application mechanisms and encouraging wider industry participation. Nevertheless, questions remain over whether the PM Internship Scheme can meet its long-term objective without substantial improvements in execution, awareness and retention of participants.
As policymakers review the programme’s performance, the focus is likely to remain on improving conversion from applications to actual internships, ensuring better utilisation of public funds and strengthening collaboration between industry and educational institutions. The coming phases of the scheme will be closely watched to determine whether the government’s flagship internship initiative can achieve its original vision of preparing millions of young Indians for the workforce.
