The government is planning to develop a one-stop resource centre for job seekers under the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS), to enhance their employability. The idea is to support interns “throughout their journey” by facilitating collaboration between the academia, corporate, and government sectors.
The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has invited expression of interest to identify an agency to develop the platform.
The MCA document said that the agency will develop training programmes that will make interns employment-ready, and facilitate counselling sessions for them during their entire internship lifecycle — from registration to the completion.
“The agency will generate informative and engaging content that aids interns in their professional journey. This includes the development of guides, best practice documents, and multimedia resources,” the EoI said.
Further, the agency will be tasked to develop a solution that is scalable, user-centric, and inclusive, with mechanisms for continuous improvement based on user feedback.
After a lukewarm response in the pilot project, the government made a host of changes to the scheme, including geo-tagging the opportunities so that the candidates can opt for companies and units closer to their domiciles.
Additionally, in the pilot project, several of the top 500 companies involved in PMIS have been adding extra incentives from their own pockets to attract more number of interns. Under PMIS, an intern is provided with Rs 5,000 per month of stipend over a 12-month period in addition to a one-time allowance of Rs 6,000.
In the first round of the pilot project, launched in December 2024, just about 8,000 candidates have joined companies for internship out of the 127,000 opportunities provided by the partner companies.
The data on the number of hiring in the second round (of the pilot project) is still awaited.
Earlier, FE had reported that the government has substantially increased the target for FY26 to 700,000 internships, up from 125,000 in FY25.
The latest EoI also said that the interested agency will organise events that will connect interns with each other and with industry experts, facilitating knowledge sharing and mentorship.
Though MCA has said that the EoI has been issued for the purpose of obtaining preliminary information from interested entities, and it will not evaluate agencies based on the response.
Based on the learning from the two pilot projects, the MCA has plans to move a cabinet note for a broader PMIS.
The PMIS aims to equip the country’s youth with modern-day skills and real-world work experience. The ambitious initiative is aimed at providing 10 million young individuals with valuable internship opportunities over a five-year period.