Plan for PMIS: Final year diploma students to be eligible Cos can go to campus to pick up interns

However, the response in two phases of the pilot has been low | Photo Credit: Clovera

Government plans to include final year diploma student to be eligible for PM Internship Scheme besides permitting companies to go to campus to pick up interns, a senior Corporate Affairs Ministry official said. Meanwhile, Secretary in the Corporate Affairs Ministry Deepti Gaur Mukerjee has urged India Inc to look for human behind the numbers for intern intake.

“Talents are not just in IIT or IIM, it is spread all over India,” Mukerjee said while addressing CII Annual Business Summit here. She appealed to industry to put passion in the scheme as the scheme makes changes in somebody’s life and his or her immediate family. “Let us put heart into the scheme,” she said while acknowledging that response during first two phases of pilots were low but expressed hope that numbers will come.

She emphasized that the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme was conceptualized to bridge the gap between industry demand and the country’s existing skilling ecosystem by giving industries the flexibility to shape talent according to evolving workforce needs. She announced that next phase of the pilot scheme will be rolled out by the end of this year.

Participating in the discussion, Balamurugan D Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs informed about new features being planned. “We are planning to include final year diploma students along with final year UG and PG students,” she said. Also, there is proposal to allow companies to select interns in campus mode. “Accordingly, companies can go to campus, select students and give the joining letter on the same day,” he said.

Unique features

He highlighted the unique features of the national internship scheme, stressing its ability to give industries complete flexibility in designing roles, sectors, duration, qualifications, and training formats. “No other programme, no other scheme in the country or maybe even in the world will give you this kind of flexibility.” He noted that the initiative enables final-year graduates and postgraduates to be trained directly by companies, ensuring a smoother transition into employment.

PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) was announced in the Budget 2024-25. It aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in top 500 companies in five years. However, the response in two phases of the pilot has been low. Earlier this year, in a written reply, Minister of State in the Corporate Affairs Ministry Harsh Malhotra said that in the first round of the pilot more than 6.21 lakh applications were received from about 1.81 lakh candidates. Partner companies made over 82,000 internship offers to over 60,000 candidates and over 28,000 offers were accepted.

In the Round II of the PM Internship Scheme Pilot Project, over 4.55 lakh applications were received from over 2.14 lakh applicants, in this round. Partner companies made over 83,000 offers to over 71,000 candidates and over 24,600 offers were accepted. 

The Minister listed some of the main reasons for low acceptance of internship offers For example, location is an important consideration and ideal travel distance indicated by candidates is between 5-10 km. Then, internship period of 12 months is longer than that in normal skilling programs. Also, some candidates are not interested in roles offered. “As on January 27, 2026, 7094 candidates have left the internship without completing in both the rounds of the PMIS Pilot Project,” he said.

Published on May 12, 2026