PM internship scheme: Loads of interest, but barely anyone finished
The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme (PMIS) pilot got a huge response—over 6 lakh applications for about 1.65 lakh internship offers.
But here's the catch: by November 2025, only just over 2,000 interns actually completed their stints. That's a completion rate of about 1.2%.
Lots of offers, not many takers—and even fewer finishers
Even though thousands got offers, only about 16,000 candidates joined across both pilot rounds (just 30% actually showed up).
Of those who started, around 41% left before finishing.
So while the scheme is popular on paper, most students aren't sticking around.
Assam stands out; rest struggle
Assam did surprisingly well—over 30% of its accepted interns finished their internships in Round I.
States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand also had better-than-average rates (around 15% and 10%), but most states lagged far behind.
Government spending big to fix things
Despite these low numbers, the government spent nearly ₹74 crore from its massive ₹10,831 crore budget for PMIS this year.
They're now rolling out new tracking tools and support systems to help more interns actually complete their placements and get something real out of the experience.