PM internship scheme can enhance youth employability: Nirmala Sitharaman
The pilot phase of the scheme targets 1.25 lakh youth, with a five-year goal to facilitate internships for one crore young individuals
The Prime Minister Internship Scheme has the potential to bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry expectations, and enhance youth employability, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
While launching a dedicated mobile app for the internship scheme at Samanvay Hall in the Parliament, she urged the industry to actively participate in the scheme. She said their involvement would contribute to nation-building while fostering a skilled workforce in the country.
The scheme, announced in the Union budget speech by Sitharaman on July 23, aims to provide young individuals aged 21-24 years from low-income households with 12-month internship opportunities in the country’s top 500 companies. The pilot phase targets 1.25 lakh youth, with a five-year goal to facilitate internships for one crore young individuals.
The mobile app is aimed at facilitating prospective beneficiaries. It has intuitive interface with a clean design and effortless navigation, easy registration through Aadhaar face authentication, effortless navigation (eligible candidates can sift through opportunities by location), personalized dashboard, access to a dedicated support team and real time alerts to keep candidates abreast of new updates, the ministry of corporate affairs said in a statement.
Speaking at the event, minister of state for corporate affairs Harsh Malhotra said the launch of the app will significantly enhance accessibility to internship opportunities for the youth. With the application, users can also explore the referral program recently announced by the ministry. The referral program would enable the registered youth to refer other eligible candidates for the scheme and win rewards. The registered youth on the PM Internship portal (web browser) can also participate in this referral program, the statement said.
The scheme provides 12-month paid internships in top companies of India, and supports each intern with monthly financial assistance of ₹5,000, supplemented by one-time financial assistance of ₹6,000.
In the first round of the pilot project (October-December 2024), over 1.27 lakh opportunities in about 745 districts were posted by around 280 companies across 25 sectors, the statement said. Over 82,000 offers were made to the candidates, it added.
In the second round that commenced in January 2025, about 327 companies posted more than 1.18 lakh opportunities. Of these, around 37,000 opportunities are for graduates, 23,000 for ITI holders, 18,000 for diploma holders, 15,000 for 12th-grade and 25,000 are available for candidates with 10th qualifications, it said. The internship application window for round-II is open up till March 31, it added.