The government is preparing to launch a third pilot phase of the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS) in August 2025, following persistently low dropout rates and weak participation in prior runs.

Initiated in October 2024 with a ₹2,000 crore pilot budget, the scheme received over 620,000 applications for 1.25 lakh internships across 280 companies. However, only 82,000 offers were accepted, and a mere 8,700 interns (about 11%) actually joined positions in Round 1. Round 2 saw slightly improved figures 28,000 offers and ~22,800 acceptances but actual onboarding remained muted.

Challenges cited include parental or peer discouragement, limited housing support during internships, perception of inadequate stipends, mismatch between intern expectations and actual project roles, and low awareness in remote regions.

In response, the upcoming Round 3 will offer shorter internships, better job-role matching based on location, strengthened awareness campaigns in Tier 2/3 regions, and dedicated PMIS cells within partner companies.

With the broader goal of reaching 1 crore internships in five years, the scheme is targeting 7 lakh internships in FY 2025–26—a sixfold increase over the earlier target.