PM Internship Scheme

Background and Launch – (July 1, 2023)

The PM Internship Scheme is a vision of the Government of India, which was conceived with the idea of empowering the Indian youth by strengthening them and providing them with practical knowledge. It was launched on July 1, 2023, during the National Youth Empowerment Week with its very rudimentary objective of connecting education with the requirements of the industry. The scheme has been reworked from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposals that have focused on experiential learning, skill acquisition and placement.

The implementation was coordinated by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), though other ministries such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) were also to be involved. A discontinuation to the previous departmental internship schemes, the PM Internship Scheme is an all-India scheme, covering public sector enterprises, central and state government departments, private sector corporations, start-ups and non-government organisations. This scheme is in line with India’s larger missions like Skill India, Digital India, and Startup India.

Objective of the Scheme

The goals of the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme are multifaceted and not only employment-oriented but youth development in general. One of the main goals is to provide industry-specific skills to students. Most employers today complain that students exit with theoretical skills but without practical skills. This scheme bridges the gap by giving them a chance to work within a real environment.

The second primary objective is to groom students for jobs. More than 1 crore youth enter the job market in India every year, and the job market is highly competitive. Internships give a comparative edge and are also a way to expose students to the kind of behaviors that employers want in a work place, i.e., communication etiquette, punctuality, and analytical mindset. The program also lends itself to youth empowerment by convincing the youth to enter the field of leadership, entrepreneurship, and social innovation.

The program also benefits companies as they are aided by dynamic and young interns and even get future employees as a by-product. Through this internship program, the government is now finally looking towards using the youth in the tasks of nation-building through public service schemes as well as governance interventions based on technology.

Eligibility Criteria

The PM scheme of internship has a massive significance in that it provides opportunities to most of the youth of India. Nevertheless, for quality participation, there are certain requirements as well. Firstly, the participant needs to be an Indian national and preferably in his/her last year who is studying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Students who have the ability to take courses leading to diplomas (especially engineering, pharmacy, or polytechnic) are also eligible for application. Fresh pass-outs who have cleared their courses in the last two years are also eligible for application under the scheme.

There is even a maximum age, which is usually 18-30 years, but some departments also regulate the upper age limit to a certain extent for research or technical streams. Also, there is an educational qualification that is usually defined as the minimum at the time of applying for an internship – usually 60% marks in recent examinations or its equivalent CGPA. This also varies with the host organization. There are qualifications related to education, but even applications are considered from candidates with good communication skills, project experience or certifications.

Sectors covered

One of the strongest aspects of the PM Internship Scheme is that it caters to a wide spectrum of industries. Students from different streams—science, commerce, arts, engineering, medicine, or law—are in a position to look for suitable internship opportunities. The government has collaborated with various sectors such as agriculture, education, information technology, healthcare, public administration, finance, tourism, manufacturing, and even emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data analytics.

For instance, in the first cycle (July 2023 to August 2023), over 20,000 internship seats were offered in sectors such as rural development, climate action, start-up incubation, and policy writing. Even government ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Road Transport have placed advertisements for intake of interns.

Such sectoral diversity ensures that the scheme is not limited to just business students and engineers. It also provides exposure to law and order, public administration and grass root governance, which provides students with exposure to administrative as well as policy aspects of India.

Duration of Internship

The duration of internships in this program is flexible and broad-based for both students and host institutions. The duration of internships is a minimum of 2 months, although most of the opportunities offered are of 3 to 6 months duration. There are some research-based or policy-based internships that can last up to 12 months, especially in government think tanks and development institutions.

Some of the internships offered in the July 2023 cycle were:

Internship for 3 months at District Collector Offices
Internship for 6 months at Public Sector Units (PSUs)
Niti Internship for 12 months at NITI AAYOG

This is a flexible format that enables students to do internships during the semester vacation period or graduation time. It also provides them with enough time to settle into the workflow, work on suitable projects, and build a quality portfolio. Departments are asked to schedule the start and end dates of internships to match university calendar years so that they do not interfere with students after class. Interns may also be given performance-based extensions.

Stipend and Financial Aid

One of the biggest benefits of the PM Internship Scheme is that it offers financial aid in the form of a stipend monthly. This makes internships more accessible, especially for students from economically weaker sections. On an average, the stipend provided varies between ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 monthly depending on the field, position, and the organization providing the internship. There are even high-skilled internships that pay as high as ₹20,000 as a stipend.

During the July -August cycle 2023, the stipend was funded by both the government and partner private organizations. For example:

Ministry of Rural Development interns were provided with ₹10,000/month.
AICTE Tech Internship paid ₹15,000/month.
Ministry of AYUSH Health Internship provided ₹12,000/month with travel allowance.

Apart from the stipend, boarding, lodging, to-and-fro travel costs, and accident insurance are also provided free of cost by some departments. Upon successful completion, all interns are awarded a certificate of internship jointly signed by the government and the host organization. The certificate carries a lot of weightage in their academic and professional CV.

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