PM Internship Scheme fails to click with Punjab’s youth

Chandigarh: Punjab, which grapples with high unemployment among its educated youth, recorded a low response to the Modi govt's flagship Prime Minister Internship Scheme, both in terms of participation levels and retention of candidates.The scheme is an initiative launched by the Govt of India to provide structured internship opportunities to young people. Envisaged as part of the broader push towards skill development and employment generation, the programme seeks to bridge the gap between academic learning and workplace experience by placing candidates in leading companies across sectors. Selected interns are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000.
Punjab recorded 742 internship offers in Round I of the pilot project, of which 223 were accepted. Only 21 interns from the state completed their internships as of January 27, 2026. This translated into a completion rate of about 2.83% of total offers and roughly 9.4% of accepted offers. Punjab's acceptance rate in Round I stood at approximately 30.1%, below the national average, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on February 3, 2026, by the ministry of corporate affairs in response to a question by Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney.At the all-India level, 82,077 internship offers were made by companies across states in Round I. Of these, 28,141 were accepted, reflecting a national acceptance rate of approximately 34.3%. As many as 3,417 interns completed their internships.Neighbouring Haryana recorded 5,990 offers in Round I, with 1,293 acceptances and 99 completions, translating into an acceptance rate of about 21.6%. Himachal Pradesh saw 929 offers, 177 acceptances and 43 completions, giving it an acceptance rate of roughly 19.1%. While Punjab's percentage acceptance was higher than both Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the overall volume of internship generation remained significantly lower than Haryana.Among larger states, Uttar Pradesh led with 11,563 offers and 4,656 acceptances in Round I. Madhya Pradesh followed with 6,244 offers and 2,058 acceptances, while Bihar recorded 5,668 offers and 2,418 acceptances.Round II of the pilot project saw 83,696 offers made nationally, of which 24,638 were accepted, reflecting an acceptance rate of approximately 29.4%. In Punjab, 2,255 offers were made in Round II and 472 were accepted, giving the state an acceptance rate of around 20.9%. Haryana recorded 1,780 offers and 601 acceptances in Round II, translating into an acceptance rate of about 33.8%, while Himachal Pradesh saw 410 offers and 106 acceptances, with an acceptance rate of approximately 25.9%.The duration of the internship under the pilot project is 12 months. Completion dates for Round I internships fall between November 2025 and March 2026, while Round II internships are scheduled for completion from April 2026 onwards, depending on the date of joining.The ministry further informed that for the financial year 2025-26, an amount of Rs 10,831.07 crore was allocated to the ministry of corporate affairs for the PM Internship Scheme at the Budget Estimate stage, which was later revised to Rs 506 crore. As an initiation measure, a pilot project with a budget of Rs 840 crore was approved. The pilot began on October 3, 2024, and is currently under implementation. A total of 353 companies provided internship opportunities in Round I and Round II of the pilot project.