Budget 2025: PM Internship Scheme Could Be Expanded To Make It More Attractive

The government is considering tweaking the PM Internship scheme by widening the reach of the programme and easing eligibility criteria in the upcoming Union Budget, sources told NDTV Profit.

The internship scheme, which is currently in pilot mode, is likely to reach out to states and respective districts and may invite more companies to participate.

Subsequently, there could be modifications in the current eligibility criteria, including age and qualification. At present, youth aged 21-24 years would apply if they completed 10^th, 12th, ITI, Polytechnic, or diploma courses.

“The Ministry of Corporate Affairs or MCA, is working on eligibility criteria for the scheme, looking at the popularity during its pilot run,” a person in the know said. He added that some relaxation in age limit is also being considered. Sources said that the scheme could be rolled out in full next month.

Notably during the pilot stage, the scheme offered opportunities to about 80,000-90,000 of the total 1.27 lakh opportunities being posted by the companies.

As of Dec 29, the internship scheme received approximately 6.21 lakh applications against 1.27 lakh.

The scheme aimed at providing opportunities to 1.25 lakh people by the end of March.

The internship scheme was announced in the previous Union budget, and it aims to provide internship opportunities to 1 crore youth in the top 500 companies over five years.

 “Through this scheme, youth will gain exposure to real-life business environments across varied professions and employment opportunities.

The interns will be provided with financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per month for 12 months, of which Rs 4,500 would be disbursed by the Union government, and Rs 500 per month would be paid by the company from its corporate social responsibility or CSR funds,” the Centre had said.