PM Internship Scheme 2026: eligibility, ₹9,000 stipend, 6 or 9 month internships and how to apply

What is the PM Internship Scheme?

Announced in the Union Budget 2024-25, the scheme aims at one crore internships over five years. MCA ran the pilot in two rounds across 2024-25 and 2025-26, then extended it with new rules. It is not a job: a Ministry of Labour memorandum of 27 September 2024 says interns are not employees, though companies may hire good interns. A PIB release of 14 August 2026 lists Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys and ONGC among the pilot's award winners.

Is a PM Internship round open in October 2026?

Yes. The PIB release of 22 April 2026 says the third round of the pilot is under way, with companies posting internships on an ongoing basis. There are no fixed national "last dates" any more. Each posting has its own application window.

On 19 October 2026 the portal's public listing showed:

• 1,908 postings with 15,620 openings from 207 companies, across 34 states and union territories.
• 1,863 postings (12,479 openings) open for applications that day. The latest closing date shown was 18 November 2026.
• By minimum qualification: 998 postings for graduates, 361 for Class 12, 180 for diploma, 176 for ITI, 152 for Class 10 and 41 for postgraduates.

A full-scale phase after the pilot has not been announced (as of 19 October 2026).

PM Internship Scheme eligibility in 2026

The MCA guidelines of 12 March 2026 (Guidelines menu on the portal) set these conditions:

1. Citizenship: Indian nationals only.
2. Age: 18 to 25 years on the date of application. The portal reads your date of birth from Aadhaar.
3. Not working full-time.
4. Not in full-time education. Online, distance and correspondence students may apply, and so may final-year students of full-time graduation or post-graduation.
5. Education: Class 10 pass, Class 12 pass, an ITI certificate, a polytechnic diploma, or a degree such as BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BCA, BBA, B.Pharma or B.E./B.Tech. Postgraduates with MA, M.Sc, M.Com, MCA or M.Tech may also apply.

Final-year students: the addendum of 8 April 2026 adds a No Objection Certificate (NOC) on the institution's letterhead, using MCA's template. A university Head of Department, Dean or Training and Placement Officer can sign it, or a college Principal or Training and Placement Officer.

Who is not eligible

• Graduates or postgraduates of IITs, IIMs, National Law Universities, IISER, NIDs, IIITs and IISc.
• Anyone holding CA, CMA, CS, MBBS, BDS, MD, MS, MBA (or equivalent), MPhil or PhD.
• Anyone currently in a skill, apprenticeship, internship or training programme under a central or state government scheme.
• Anyone who has completed apprenticeship or training under NATS or NAPS at any point. If you are weighing a bank or transport apprenticeship such as Canara Bank's graduate apprentice drive or GSRTC's ITI route, remember it closes the PMIS door later.
• Anyone whose family member (self, parents or spouse) earned more than ₹12 lakh in the preceding financial year.
• Anyone whose family member is a permanent or regular government employee. "Government" includes central and state governments, PSUs, statutory bodies and local bodies. Contractual staff do not count.

The portal has an "Are you eligible?" checker that asks these same questions before you register.

What changed from the 2024-25 pilot

Earlier-round interns keep a 12-month term but get ₹9,000 a month from March 2026. The portal's FAQ page and guidelines page still show the old pilot text, so rely on the updated PDFs in its Guidelines and FAQs menus.

Stipend, one-time grant and insurance

• Monthly assistance: ₹9,000 for the whole internship. The company pays ₹900 (which can depend on attendance and conduct), uploads proof by the 5th of each month, and the government then pays ₹8,100 to your Aadhaar-seeded bank account. The government share is cut in proportion if the company pays less.
• One-time grant: ₹6,000 in two parts of ₹3,000. The first comes within 15 days of joining. The second needs 90 active days and at least two monthly payments uploaded by the company.
• Company extras: some companies add money or benefits. On 19 October 2026, 372 postings listed extra monthly assistance on top of ₹9,000.
• Insurance: the government gives life and personal accident cover equal to Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY). The updated FAQ says interns are covered automatically under a group arrangement, and the cover ends with the internship.
• Sabbatical: up to two months off for a medical or family emergency, unpaid; your end date moves back by that much.

At the base rate, a 6-month internship brings ₹54,000 in assistance and a 9-month one ₹81,000, plus the ₹6,000 grant in both cases.

How to apply on pminternship.mca.gov.in

The Candidate User Manual on the portal sets out the process. There is no fee.

1. Register: open the portal or the PMIS mobile app, choose Login / Register, enter your mobile number and the OTP, and set a password.
2. Complete e-KYC through Aadhaar or DigiLocker. Full internship details and the Apply button stay locked until you do.
3. Fill your profile: personal details, then qualifications in order (Class 10, Class 12, then degree), with certificates uploaded as PDFs of up to 7 MB. The portal builds your CV.
4. Search internships by state, district, sector, field or distance from you, and read the duration, qualification and benefits on each card.
5. Apply to up to 3 internships at a time. Final-year students upload the NOC here.
6. Respond to offers within 14 days, or the offer lapses on day 15.
7. Join on the reporting date in the offer letter. There is a 14-day grace period, and your supervisor can approve up to one month's extension.
8. Seed Aadhaar with your bank account (My Profile, then "Check Aadhaar Seeding Status") so the money can reach you. NPCI's Aadhaar seeding steps explain how.

How many offers can you accept?

You can hold up to 2 offers at a time but accept only 1. Once you accept, your other applications are blocked. If you accept one of two offers, you may switch to the other within 15 days of accepting.

Penalties apply. Two rejected, lapsed or not-reported offers in a row block you for 3 months, and two in total block you for a year. If you drop out, you sit out for 6 months and get one more chance. A second dropout, or a termination by the company, ends your PMIS eligibility.

Documents you need

• Aadhaar, with your mobile number linked for OTP e-KYC (or a DigiLocker account).
• An active mobile number and email address.
• Mark sheets or certificates for each qualification, as PDFs.
• Any skill or training certificates you want on your CV.
• A bank account seeded with Aadhaar.
• For final-year students, the signed NOC from your institution.

Family income and the government-employee rule are covered by a self-declaration on the portal.

How selection works

The portal shortlists applicants for each posting from their preferences and the company's needs, giving representation to SC, ST, OBC candidates and persons with disabilities (there is no formal reservation). Each company then runs its own selection, which can include tests or interviews.

Which companies and sectors take interns?

The partner companies list includes Reliance Industries, TCS, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Infosys, NTPC, Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro. From 2026 the top 2,000 companies by CSR spending and firms with turnover above ₹1,000 crore or net worth above ₹500 crore can join, as can MSMEs, Global Capability Centres, SEZ units, professional bodies such as ICAI and state-nominated companies with MCA approval.

Among the 1,908 postings on 19 October 2026, banking and financial services led with 748, followed by oil, gas and energy (401), metals and mining (157) and manufacturing (135). A PIB factsheet of 13 August 2026 says the scheme had offered 1,64,902 internship opportunities across 31 sectors by 12 August 2026.

PM Internships in Gujarat

On 19 October 2026 Gujarat led every state with 224 postings and 1,578 openings from 31 companies. Ahmedabad had 50 postings, Bharuch 40, Vadodara 30, Kachchh 18, Panch Mahals 17 and Surat 11. Chemicals (70 postings), banking and finance (54), oil, gas and energy (35) and pharmaceuticals (22) dominated. The largest posters were UPL, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance, AIA Engineering, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, GSPL Transmission, HDFC Bank, Torrent Power, Aarti Industries and Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals.

A Lok Sabha answer of 20 July 2026 said 185 young people from Gujarat had applied through MY Bharat's outreach by 16 July 2026, and no PMIS camp had yet been held in Kutch. For other routes in the state, see the Surat job fair on 23 October and the PM-SETU upgrade of five Surat ITIs.

Common problems and fixes

• "Out of age range" error: your age comes from Aadhaar. Correct your date of birth at an Aadhaar centre first.
• Certificate will not upload: it must be a PDF of 7 MB or less.
• Apply button blocked: you may have 3 active applications, 2 pending offers, an accepted offer or a temporary ban.
• No money yet: check Aadhaar seeding and that HR has marked you "Joining verified".
• Help: use the portal's Complaints section or the free helpline 1800-11-6090.

Where to go next

• After school: career guidance for Class 10 and 12 and diploma courses after Class 10
• Money for study: NSP scholarship 2026-27 and MYSY 2026-27