PM Internship 2026 Round 3: apply, stipend, eligibility

What PM Internship Scheme is in 2026

Pradhan Mantri Internship Scheme (PMIS), also called PM Internship Scheme, is the central youth employment scheme launched in Union Budget 2024-25 targeting 1 crore internships across the Top 500 companies over 5 years. Interns receive Rs 9,000 per month combined stipend (Rs 8,100 government DBT plus Rs 900 company CSR), plus Rs 6,000 one-time joining grant, plus PMJJBY life cover and PMSBY accident cover, for a 12-month internship at the participating company. The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs through pminternship.mca.gov.in.

Pilot Round 3 is currently live in July 2026 with applications running on a rolling basis from April 2026 through December 2026. Target is 1.10 lakh internships in Round 3. At any point in the current cycle, approximately 28,000 to 40,000 opportunities are open across 24 sectors. Round 3 introduced a significant expansion beyond the Top 500 companies. MSMEs, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), statutory bodies (Airports Authority of India, Shipping Corporation of India), and professional institutes (ICAI, ICSI, ICMAI) can now onboard as internship providers.

Three data points from Round 1 and Round 2 matter for anyone considering applying to Round 3. Round 1 (2024-25) received 6.21 lakh applications, made 82,000 offers against 1.27 lakh opportunities, saw 28,000 offers accepted (34 percent acceptance rate), and only 95 interns were converted to full-time hires by the participating companies. Round 2 (2025-26) saw acceptance rate drop further to 29 percent. Budget FY 2025-26 BE was Rs 10,831 crore but RE was Rs 526 crore, meaning less than 5 percent of budgeted funds were actually spent on the scheme.

What changed in Pilot Round 3

Three material changes to the scheme design in Round 3 that widen access.

Provider base expansion. Round 1 and Round 2 were restricted to the Top 500 companies notified in Ministry of Corporate Affairs annual reports. Round 3 opened participation to MSMEs (specifically medium enterprises with turnover Rs 250 crore to Rs 1,000 crore), Global Capability Centres (GCC subsidiaries of multinational companies operating in India), statutory bodies (Airports Authority of India, Shipping Corporation of India, and similar public sector entities), and professional institutes (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ICAI, Institute of Company Secretaries of India ICSI, Institute of Cost Accountants of India ICMAI). Each state government can also nominate up to 20 additional companies for local internship placements.

Age eligibility widened. Round 1 and Round 2 required applicants to be aged 21 to 24. Round 3 widened this to 18 to 25 years, opening participation to fresh school leavers and later-stage graduates. This change was notified in early April 2026 alongside Round 3 launch.

Final-year students eligible. Round 1 and Round 2 excluded final-year graduate and postgraduate students. Round 3 permits final-year students to apply subject to a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the institution confirming that the internship dates do not conflict with academic examinations or attendance requirements. This change is documented in PIB PRID 2254498.

Eligibility 2026: who can apply, who cannot

Age is 18 to 25 years as on the application date. Nationality is Indian citizen. Not currently in full-time paid employment, though final-year students with NOC are permitted.

Educational qualification tiers. Class 10 pass, Class 12 pass, ITI diploma from an NCVT or SCVT-recognised institution, National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC), 2-year polytechnic diploma, or 3-year bachelor's degree in any stream. Postgraduates in general degree programs are also permitted subject to age cap.

Family income cap. Combined family annual income should not exceed Rs 8 lakh in the preceding financial year. Income proof is required at application stage through parent's Income Tax Return, or income certificate from tehsildar or SDM for non-taxpayer families.

Exclusions matter and are often missed. Students of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Chartered Accountancy final-stage (CA Final), Company Secretary final-stage (CS Final), Cost Accountancy final-stage (CMA Final), or Management Graduates (MBA or PGDM) are ineligible. This exclusion is intended to focus the scheme on non-premier-institute graduates. If you are enrolled in any of these, you cannot apply.

Stipend and benefits: Rs 9,000 monthly plus additional grants

The Rs 9,000 monthly stipend is not a lump sum from one payer. Break-up matters for tax and expectation setting.

Rs 8,100 per month from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to your Aadhaar-linked bank account. This is the primary component and is paid regardless of company performance.

Rs 900 per month from the participating company as CSR contribution. This is paid by the company to the intern's bank account or through the pminternship.mca.gov.in portal in some cases. If the company delays or defaults on the CSR share, the DBT component still flows.

Rs 6,000 one-time joining grant paid to the intern at the start of the internship. This is intended to cover joining-related expenses like commute setup, work attire, and initial living arrangements.

Life insurance under PMJJBY (Rs 2 lakh cover) and accident insurance under PMSBY (Rs 2 lakh) for the 12-month internship duration. Premium is paid by the government. This is separate from any personal insurance the intern may hold.

Non-cash benefits vary by company. Some companies provide a work laptop, free meals, transport allowance, or hostel accommodation. These are not scheme-mandated but common at larger participating companies.

Round 1 versus Round 2 performance: the credibility check

Round 1 launched in October 2024 as a pilot targeting 1.25 lakh internships. Reported outcomes as of scheme close.

Applications received: 6.21 lakh from eligible candidates across 24 sectors. Opportunities listed: 1.27 lakh across 111 anchor companies. Offers made: 82,000 from participating companies to shortlisted applicants. Offers accepted: 28,000 (34 percent acceptance rate). Interns started internship: 28,000 (matching offer acceptance). Full-time hires from Round 1 cohort: 95 interns (per Wire investigation, verified through RTI).

Round 2 launched in Q1 2025-26 targeting 1 lakh-plus internships across 730-plus districts. Acceptance rate dropped further to 29 percent, a 12.4 percent relative decline from Round 1. Reasons cited by candidates for offer rejection include stipend below market rate for their qualification, unwillingness to relocate to the offered work location, and lack of company reputation or brand for career resume value.

For Round 3 aspirants, the practical implication is to research the specific participating company and role before accepting an offer. The scheme provides Rs 9,000 stipend regardless of company, but the internship's career-value differential varies dramatically across companies.

Budget allocation and scheme viability watch

Union Budget 2024-25 launched PMIS with a scheme announcement but no dedicated line item allocation. Budget 2025-26 allocated Rs 10,831 crore as Budget Estimate (BE) for PMIS. Revised Estimate for the same year (Feb 2026) was Rs 526 crore, reflecting actual funds absorbed by the scheme. This is a 95 percent underutilisation.

Budget 2026-27 allocated Rs 4,788 crore for PMIS, materially reduced from the BE 2025-26 figure but 8 times the RE 2025-26 actual. This signals that the government has recalibrated its expectation of scheme absorption based on Round 1 and Round 2 experience.

For an applicant, this means the funding is not a constraint on stipend flow. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has adequate funds allocated for Round 3 at the current 1.10 lakh target. The constraint is scheme design (offer-acceptance mismatch, stipend levels, work location alignment) rather than money.

Participating companies and 24 sectors

Round 1 confirmed 111-plus anchor companies across 24 sectors. Sectors are Oil and Gas, Banking and Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Information Technology, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Automotive, Pharmaceuticals, Telecom, Retail, Aviation and Defence, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Hospitality, Media and Entertainment, Real Estate and Construction, Energy, Metals and Mining, Textiles and Apparel, Logistics and Supply Chain, Agriculture and Agri-Tech, Chemicals, Electronics, Education, Public Sector Undertakings, and Miscellaneous.

Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, ITC Limited, State Bank of India, Larsen and Toubro, and Bharti Airtel were among the largest anchor companies in Round 1. State-nominated companies added regional coverage in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

Round 3 additions from MSMEs, GCCs, statutory bodies, and professional institutes bring the participating company count above 200 as of July 2026. Fresh company additions are announced monthly on pminternship.mca.gov.in.

State and district coverage leaderboard

State-wise internship placements aggregated from Round 1 data and Round 2 dashboard on pminternship.mca.gov.in.

Maharashtra leads in absolute placement count due to the density of participating company headquarters in Mumbai and Pune, and strong state-level nomination pipeline.

Gujarat is second with heavy participation from Reliance-headquartered internships and state PSU placements.

Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of applicants but comparatively lower placement rate due to fewer company headquarters in the state. State-nominated companies are increasing UP participation.

Jharkhand ranks high on placement rate per applicant due to strong state-level company nominations and lower absolute applicant volume.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and West Bengal are middle-tier states with moderate placement volumes.

Northeast states, Jammu and Kashmir, and smaller union territories have the lowest placement volumes due to limited participating companies with regional offices.

Step-by-step application on pminternship.mca.gov.in

Register on pminternship.mca.gov.in with your Aadhaar-linked mobile number and email. Complete Aadhaar eKYC through OTP or biometric verification.

Profile creation. Enter educational qualifications, family income (with income certificate upload), preferred sectors (choose up to 3), preferred work locations (choose up to 5), and preferred internship duration (12 months is standard). Upload a resume, recent photograph, and educational certificates.

Opportunity search. Browse open opportunities filtered by sector, location, and eligibility match. Apply to opportunities where the eligibility criteria match your profile. You can apply to up to 5 opportunities simultaneously in the current cycle.

Shortlisting. Participating companies review applications and shortlist candidates. Shortlisting turnaround is 15 to 30 days per opportunity. Shortlisted candidates receive email and portal notification.

Selection process. Depending on the company, selection may include an aptitude test, video interview, in-person interview, or a case-based assignment. Selection turnaround from shortlisting is another 15 to 30 days.

Offer acceptance. On selection, an offer letter is generated on the portal. Candidate has 7 days to accept or decline. Accepted offers proceed to internship joining. Declined offers or non-response lead to the next candidate being made an offer.

Internship joining. On offer acceptance, joining formalities include Aadhaar-bank seeding verification for DBT, PMJJBY and PMSBY enrolment, and company-specific onboarding. First stipend credit typically flows in the first month of internship.

Selection process: what to expect at the company stage

Aptitude test is common at large participating companies like TCS, Infosys, and HDFC Bank. Test typically covers verbal ability, numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and general awareness. Duration is 60 to 90 minutes.

Video interview is common at BFSI, IT, and professional services companies. Round of 30 to 45 minutes covering resume walk-through, interest area discussion, situational judgment, and technical basics relevant to the target role.

In-person interview is common at manufacturing, retail, and MSME internships where location alignment matters. Interview covers resume walk-through, interest area, ability to work in the offered location, and long-term intent.

Case-based assignment is common at management-consulting-adjacent internships and some GCC roles. Assignment is a 24 to 48 hour take-home covering a business case or analytical problem in the target sector.

Preparation focus for applicants is aptitude test practice (standard MBA-prep materials work), resume clarity on interest area, and articulation of why the specific company and sector match the applicant's career goal. Generic answers do not perform well at the selection stage.

Historical scheme background: from Budget 2024-25 launch to Round 3

PM Internship Scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 speech on 23 July 2024 as a 5-year initiative targeting 1 crore internships across the Top 500 companies. The scheme responded to the youth employment gap flagged in the Economic Survey 2023-24 which had estimated that 65 percent of India's youth were underemployed relative to their qualifications.

Round 1 (pilot) launched in October 2024 with 1.27 lakh opportunities across 111 anchor companies. Round 1 close in early 2025 recorded 6.21 lakh applications and 28,000 internships started, materially below the 1.25 lakh target. The gap was attributed to offer-acceptance mismatch, work location constraints, and stipend concerns.

Round 2 launched in March 2025 targeting 1 lakh-plus internships across 730-plus districts. Round 2 close in early 2026 recorded acceptance rate at 29 percent, a 5 percentage point drop from Round 1.

Round 3 (pilot continuation) launched in April 2026 with expansion to MSMEs, GCCs, statutory bodies, and professional institutes. Round 3 targets 1.10 lakh internships and runs through December 2026. Regular scheme (post-pilot) is expected to begin in 2027 with lessons from the 3 pilot rounds incorporated into scheme design.

State and district performance analytics

State-wise placement data from Round 1 close and Round 2 mid-cycle. Percentages are approximate based on Ministry of Corporate Affairs dashboard aggregation.

Maharashtra placed the highest absolute number of interns in Round 1 (approximately 18 percent of national total), driven by BFSI, IT, and manufacturing anchor companies headquartered in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur. State-nominated companies added another 5 percent to Maharashtra's Round 1 total.

Gujarat placed second in Round 1 (approximately 12 percent) driven by Reliance-led internships, Adani group participation, and state PSU placements. Ahmedabad and Vadodara were the primary placement cities.

Uttar Pradesh had the highest applicant volume in Round 1 (approximately 15 percent of national applications) but only 9 percent of placements due to limited company headquarters in the state. State-nominated companies in UP have grown for Round 3.

Karnataka placement share (approximately 8 percent) is concentrated in Bengaluru IT and GCC internships. Round 3 GCC expansion is expected to significantly grow Karnataka share.

Delhi NCR placement share (approximately 10 percent) is driven by BFSI, telecom, and central PSU placements. Location constraints for candidates from other states are a common reason for offer decline.

Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh are middle-tier placement states. Northeast states, Jammu and Kashmir, and smaller UTs have the lowest placement shares.

Post-internship pathways

The 12-month PM Internship does not guarantee a full-time job at the participating company. Round 1 cohort data shows only 95 interns from 28,000 total were converted to full-time hires by the participating company. Several other pathways are more likely.

Direct full-time offer from the participating company. Rare (0.3 percent conversion rate from Round 1 data) but the most valuable pathway. Companies that do convert typically do so for interns who excelled in specific project deliverables.

Full-time offer from an adjacent company in the same sector. Interns who complete PMIS at one company often find full-time roles at similar companies leveraging the internship reference. Success rate is materially higher than direct conversion.

Higher education or professional certification. Many PMIS interns use the internship experience and stipend savings to pursue a postgraduate degree, professional certification (CA, CFA, CS, CMA, PMP), or upskilling course. This is a common trajectory for interns who found the internship valuable but chose not to pursue full-time in the same company.

Self-employment or entrepreneurship. Some interns use the internship exposure to identify entrepreneurial opportunities in the sector. This is common in retail, hospitality, and agri-tech sectors.

The internship's real career value depends on how the intern positions the 12 months on their resume and how they leverage the company brand and sector exposure. Passive completion without deliverable-level engagement leads to a resume line but limited career acceleration.

Common rejection and dropout reasons

Rejection at the application stage. Most common reason is age mismatch (candidate over 25 or under 18). Second is family income above Rs 8 lakh threshold. Third is enrolment in excluded institution (IIT, IIM, CA Final, CS Final, CMA Final, MBA). Fourth is Aadhaar-name mismatch with certificates. Fifth is incomplete profile at submission.

Rejection at the shortlisting stage. Companies shortlist based on their internal criteria. Common reasons are sector or role mismatch with candidate qualifications, location preference mismatch, low CGPA or marks, and lack of prior relevant experience for sector-specific internships.

Rejection at the selection stage. Aptitude test scores below cut-off, video interview performance issues, or case-based assignment quality below expectation.

Dropout after offer acceptance. Most common reason is stipend below expectation once specific role and location are known. Second is unwillingness to relocate after understanding the exact work location. Third is family or personal reasons.

Dropout during internship. Rare but happens. Reasons include unclear role definition at the company, mismatch with intern's career goal, or personal or health reasons.

Comparison with other central youth employment schemes

PMIS is one of several central youth employment schemes. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right one for your profile.

Skill India Programme (SIP) under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is skill training, not employment. Trainees receive short-term skill training (3 to 12 months) with monetary rewards on completion. No direct company placement.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) is apprenticeship at establishments across all sectors. Duration 6 months to 4 years. Stipend paid by the establishment as per notified rates.

National Career Service (NCS) is a job portal at ncs.gov.in listing government and private sector jobs. No direct scheme incentive.

Startup India provides support to entrepreneurs including tax exemption, patent facilitation, and easier compliance. Not an internship or employment scheme.

PMIS is unique in offering (a) internship at Top 500 companies now expanded to MSMEs and GCCs, (b) government-funded stipend of Rs 8,100 per month, (c) Rs 6,000 joining grant, and (d) PMJJBY plus PMSBY insurance cover. This combination is not available in other schemes.

Document troubleshooting at application

If your Aadhaar name does not match your educational certificate name, either update Aadhaar (at nearest Aadhaar Enrolment Centre, 15 to 30 days) or update the certificate (through the issuing institution). Both are valid paths but institution updates are typically faster.

If your family income certificate is issued before 1 April of the current financial year, it is treated as stale. Obtain a fresh certificate from tehsildar or SDM. Alternative is parent's Income Tax Return for the same assessment year.

If you cannot upload the resume, photograph, or certificates due to file size, compress to under 2 MB per file and re-attempt. Scan at 200 DPI black-and-white for documents and 300 DPI colour for photograph.

If the Aadhaar Face RD app is not installed for eKYC verification, download from Google Play Store. If face auth fails, retry in daylight with the phone at eye level and 30 to 40 cm from face. Escalate to CSC assisted mode at Rs 30 for persistent failures.

Primary sources

• PMIS official portal: https://pminternship.mca.gov.in
• PIB Round 3 final-year eligibility expansion: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2254498
• PIB Round 2 launch: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2104914
• Union Budget 2026-27 speech: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in
• Business Standard Budget 2026-27 PMIS allocation: https://www.business-standard.com
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs: https://mca.gov.in
• PIB fresh company additions release: https://www.pib.gov.in

Frequently asked questions