Just 8,700 interned for more than 1.27 lakh postings: Why are students shunning the PM Internship Scheme?

When the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme (PMIS) was announced in the 2024-25 Budget, it was billed as a turning point in India's quest to fill the gap between academia and industry. The vision of the government was ambitious and worthy: to provide one crore internships to young people in the country's best 500 firms within five years. A pilot scheme was launched in October 2024, marking seriousness of intent. However, months after its launch, an uncomfortable question hangs in the air: Why are many students turning down offers?

A bold vision meets lukewarm response

The first phase of the PM Internship Scheme was anything but humble. Over 1.27 lakh internship placements were advertised by 280 partnering firms. The fervor on paper was uncontestable; more than 6.21 lakh applications were received from roughly 1.81 lakh candidates. Partner firms made 82,000 offers, but there the first indication of unease lay: Just 28,000 students accepted, and a paltry 8,700 joined their internships.

In the second round, launched on January 9, 2025, the story repeated itself. 327 companies offered over 1.18 lakh internships, yet the gap between opportunities created and opportunities availed showed little sign of narrowing.

The students’ dilemma

Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Harsh Malhotra, in reply in the Lok Sabha, did not hesitate to acknowledge the mismatch. "Against this, over 6.21 lakh applications were received by around 1.81 lakh candidates. Partner companies issued over 82,000 internship offers, and over 28,000 candidates accepted offers to join the internship. Over 8,700 candidates joined their internship in round I," he informed the House, PTI reported.

The issue is not lack of interest but dissonance. Students are interested in internships but wary of trade-offs. Malhotra himself admitted the reasons. "Going by simultaneous evaluation and feedback survey conducted by Ministry of Corporate Affairs, outgoing calls done by the call centre to candidates and feedback from other stakeholders including candidates, industry & industry associations and state governments, the reason for non-acceptance of offer or non-joining of internship by applicants are consideration of location, length of internship, pursuit of higher studies etc," he informed Lok Sabha, according to PTI.

Fissures in the structure

Fundamentally, the problem is one of alignment. The scheme is propagating scale, but the youth are expecting feasibility. Most of the students are from towns and semi-urban areas; moving to an internship for a temporary period is usually economically not possible. Time, also, becomes a turnoff; juggling studies, exam periods, and higher education plans makes it hard for students to sign up.

Additionally, while the scheme anchors itself with marquee firms, the placements are not necessarily coordinated with student ambition. A technology student might be reluctant to move to a Tier-2 city for a job that does not suit her skill set, whereas a management student would not see much sense in an internship that gives exposure without scope of future opportunities.

Lessons for the rollout

The government explicitly clarified that this is still a pilot. Malhotra ensured that "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," according to PTI.

The numbers indicate the desire is there, more than 3.38 lakh students have done round-one and 3.46 lakh round-two registrations. But the link from intent to action must be strengthened. Internships now are not merely about visibility; they are about relevance, accessibility, and alignment with the career pipeline.