The Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS) continues to attract strong interest from young aspirants across India, but official data reveals a wide gap between applications, offers and internships actually completed.
According to information shared by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session, only 2,066 candidates have completed their internships under the pilot phase of the scheme as of November 30, 2025. This is despite more than 1.27 lakh internship opportunities being posted by participating companies in the first round alone.
PMIS was launched as a pilot initiative to provide youth with industry exposure rather than guaranteed employment. While the response from both companies and candidates has been robust, conversion into completed internships remains limited.
Strong participation, weak conversion
In Round 1 of the pilot, partner companies posted over 1.27 lakh internship opportunities and received more than 6.21 lakh applications from around 1.81 lakh candidates. Companies issued 82,077 internship offers, of which 28,141 were accepted. However, only a small fraction of those accepted offers have so far translated into completed internships.
Round 2 has followed a similar trend. More than 1.18 lakh internship opportunities were posted, with over 24,600 offers accepted, indicating sustained interest in the scheme. Yet completion numbers remain modest, raising concerns about retention and follow-through.
State-wise trends
Data from Round 1 shows wide variations across states. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana were among the states with the highest number of internship opportunities and offers. However, higher participation did not necessarily translate into better completion outcomes.
Assam emerged as the top-performing state in terms of completion rate, with about 31 per cent of accepted candidates completing their internships by the end of November 2025. Smaller regions such as Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh also reported relatively higher completion rates, though absolute numbers were low. Most other states recorded completion rates in the range of 10–15 per cent.
Flexible timelines
The government has clarified that internship completion timelines under the pilot project are staggered. The duration of each internship is 12 months, and completion dates for Round 1 interns extend from November 2025 to March 2026, depending on individual joining dates. This flexibility may partly explain the low completion numbers recorded so far.
The ministry also reiterated that PMIS is not a placement scheme. While companies may offer jobs to interns based on performance and business needs, employment is not guaranteed.
Monitoring and next steps
To track progress, the government has put in place a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework along with a dedicated digital dashboard to monitor applications, selections, grievances and outcomes.
As Round 1 interns approach their final completion deadlines in early 2026, attention will be on whether completion figures improve in the coming months. The data so far highlights both the popularity of the scheme and the challenges in ensuring sustained participation through to the end of the internship period.