PM Internship Scheme gets campus hiring option as govt pushes wider industry participation

New Delhi: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has introduced an option for companies to onboard interns directly from campuses under the PM Internship Scheme, where the government funds 90% of the stipend, top officials said.

Hiring of interns under the programme has been done through a centralised portal, where candidates must register their names and fill in details. Under the new "Camp Mode" option introduced a few weeks ago, recruiters can now also visit campuses directly and make pitches for internships and select candidates.

Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2026 on Tuesday, MCA secretary Deepti Gaur Mukherjee called on India Inc to actively participate in the scheme as part of corporate social responsibility, to bridge the skill gap among the entry-level workforce.


“We (the government) are open to all suggestions and recommendations in the interest of the youth of the country as we go to the third round of the pilot,” Mukherjee said.

The scheme, announced in budget 2024-25, was open only to the top 500 companies in pilot one and two and 353 of them participated in it. Now the government is looking to expand the scheme to the top 2,000 companies.

Starting this March, the internship stipend has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 9,000. The scheme seeks to provide 12 months of exposure to real-life business environments, with at least 50% on-ground training, to youth.

The scheme offers immense flexibility and freedom to companies in terms of duration, structure of the course or training, internship role, domain, etc., MCA joint secretary Balamurugan D said.

Industry veterans from companies such as ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra Group, Tata Steel and Jubilant Foodworks also shared their experience at a session, “PM Internship Scheme: Strengthening India’s Talent Pipeline”.

DB Sundara Ramam, vice-president, Corporate Services at Tata Steel, raised concerns about tepid response from students. “While there is an opportunity and there are so many people passing out from schools, not many are showing interest,” he said, adding that more awareness could attract more students.

Ujjwal Prakash, VP Workforce Management at Jubilant Foodworks, said among other things that worked include sharper job descriptions, good digital infrastructure and tech integration and a dedicated learning and development training function.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has increased the stipend amount by contributing an additional Rs 10,000, making the monthly stipend to Rs 19,000, chief of skill development Anil Bahuguna told ET.

The state-run company is also roping in retired officials to mentor interns, he said.

According to Amitav Mukherji, group chief HR officer at ITC, the company has interns across 31 locations and received 3,000 applications with 900 selections.