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PM Internship Scheme: Why did only 6% candidates join companies out of 1.53 lakh offers?

The full-scale rollout of the scheme would be based on the feedback received from the stakeholders, consultations and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the pilot project.

The pilot project of the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) began on October 3, 2024, with a target of offering 1.25 lakh internship opportunities to youth in the first year. (Screengrab)

With an offer acceptance rate of 33 per cent, only 6 per cent of candidates have joined the companies under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS), stated Union Finance Minister in a written reply to the Parliament in July. Now, the government has shared some of the reasons for candidates not joining the internships. With a low acceptance rate, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Harsh Malhotra, told the lower house that location considerations, duration of internship, and pursuance of higher education were reasons for students not to accept the offer letter.

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“Based on concurrent evaluation and feedback survey carried out by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, outbound calls made by the call centre to the candidates and feedback received from various stakeholders, such as candidates, industry and its associations and state governments, the reasons for applicants not accepting the offer or not joining the internship are location considerations, duration of internship, pursuance of higher education etc,” the minister said.

States received highest PMIS internship offers

According to Malhotra, the full-scale rollout of the scheme would be based on the feedback received from the stakeholders, consultations and evaluation of outcomes during the implementation of the pilot project.

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The scheme, announced in the 2024-25, Budget aims to provide internship opportunities for 1 crore youth in the top 500 companies over the next five years. It is being implemented by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The pilot project of the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) began on October 3, 2024, with a target of offering 1.25 lakh internship opportunities to youth in the first year. In the initial round, 280 partner companies posted more than 1.27 lakh internship opportunities.

“Against this, more than 6.21 lakh applications were received from about 1.81 lakh candidates. Partner companies made over 82,000 internship offers, and more than 28,000 candidates accepted offers to join the internship. Over 8,700 candidates joined their internship in round one,” Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

In the second round, which began on January 9, 2025, he reported that 327 partner companies had posted over 1.18 lakh internship opportunities, receiving 4.55 lakh applications from more than 214,000 applicants. As of August 12, the partner companies have extended over 82,000 offers to candidates, with more than 24,000 individuals accepting internships. The total number of candidates who have completed their profiles and registration process under the PMIS pilot project is over 3.38 lakh in the first round and 3.46 lakh in the second round.

(with PTI inputs)

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