“Our government will launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to one crore youth in five years. They will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environments, varied professions and employment opportunities. An internship allowance of Rs. 5,000 per month along with a one-time assistance of Rs. 6,000 will be provided”Nirmala Sitharam, Union finance minister, Budget 2024–25 speechPrime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) with high expectations, declaring that 111 companies had registered on the portal on the very first day of its launch. “Our goal is to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth over the next five years,” he said, framing the initiative as a landmark step towards tackling youth unemployment in India. When the scheme was announced in 2024, the response appeared promising. Around 1.5 lakh young people registered within hours of the portal going live. But nearly a year and a half later, the early momentum has largely dissipated, with data pointing to staggering underperformance.A budget barely touchedFinancial utilisation has been strikingly low. In financial year (FY) 2024–25, Rs. 2,000 crore was allocated, yet only Rs. 29.29 crore was utilised, roughly 1.5% of the total. The following year was on better. According to information collected through Right to Information (RTI) filings, in the FY 2025–26, against an allocation of Rs. 10,831 crore, expenditure stood at just Rs. 87.46 crore as of February 28, 2026 — less than 1% of the budget. John Brittas, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member of parliament in Rajya Sabha, sharply condemned these figures. He wrote, “This is appalling. Prime Minister Modi owes the country a clear answer for this gross underutilisation of a wildly hyped scheme announced with much fanfare in the last Budget. The Pradhan Mantri Internship Scheme, allocated over Rs. 10,800 crore, has seen barely 4–5% of that amount spent so far in FY26. This is not a minor lapse but a systemic failure amidst acute youth unemployment. This indifference is unacceptable.”Overview of the proposed PM Internship Scheme.Opportunities offered, rarely takenData shows that only a small fraction of those offered internships follow through with the opportunities, raising concerns about both the scheme’s implementation and overall impact.The scheme’s dashboard currently lists 19,814 internship opportunities across 19 sectors, spanning 32 states and 352 districts. However, RTI disclosures reveal a much more complex and nuanced reality. In Round I, over 1.27 lakh internships were offered. Only 28,000 (about 22%) were accepted. Of those accepted, just 8,700 candidates actually joined, representing a mere 7% of the total opportunities. Furthermore, 4,705 candidates dropped out after joining, indicating that more than half (54%) did not complete the programme. Ultimately, only 3,995 candidates, which is roughly 3.1% of the initial 1.27 lakh internships offered, saw the programme through to completion. A similar patten is observed in Round II. Of 1.18 lakh internships offered, around 24,000 (20%) were accepted, but only 7,300 candidates joined. 2,648 (36%) candidates have since dropped out, leaving 4,652 candidates either continuing or having completed their internship. This number accounts for just 4% of the total internships offered. Table 1: Number of internships offered, joined, dropped midway, and completed during Round 1 and 2 of the PM Internship Scheme.StageRound IRound IIOpportunities Offered1,27,000+1,18,000+Accepted28,000 (22%)24,000 (20%)Joined8,700 (7%)7,300 (6%)Dropouts4,705 (54% of joined)2,648 (36% of joined)Completed / Continuing3,995 (3.1% of total)4,652 (~4% of total) Targets missed by a wide marginOriginally, the government had informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee that around 30 lakh internships would be provided in the first two years at an estimated cost of Rs. 19,000 crore, as a part of a five-year plan backed by a total budget of Rs. 63,000 crore.PhaseYearsNumber of internshipsCentral outlay (amount Rs in crore)11st and 2nd30 lakh19,00023rd to 5th70 lakh44,000Total financial outlay of the proposed scheme63,000Source: Estimated financial allocation as indicated in the Budget Announcement 2024-25. Photo: Standing Committee on Finance report 2024-25.Against this promise, only 2.45 lakh internships have materialised. Even after accounting for factors such as candidates not accepting the offers or dropping out, the projected number of internship opportunities was vastly higher, by over 1,200%, than what has been delivered. This gap is even more pronounced when completion rate is taken into consideration. Merely 10,000 interns have successfully completed their internships, representing 0.3% of the overall target. These figures highlight a clear disconnect between the scheme’s ambition and its on-ground execution.Budget utilisation figures tell a similar story. The gap between budget allocations and actual expenditure remains markedly wide, with data indicating that only a negligible portion of allocated funds has been utilised.In FY 2024–25, Actual Expenditure (AE) stood at Rs. 21.1 crore, 1.05% of the Rs. 2,000 crore originally budgeted and 5.6% of the revised estimate of Rs. 380 crore. In FY 2024-25, despite the Budget Estimate (BE) rising to Rs. 10,831.07 crore, the Revised Estimate (RE) being Rs. 526 crore, actual spending so far amounts to only Rs. 59.16 crore (0.54% of the BE).Table 2: Budget allocations and actual spending for Round 1 and 2 of the PM Internship Scheme.YearBudget Estimate(BE)RevisedEstimate(RE)ActualExpenditure(AE)AE in % of the BE2024-252000 38021.101.05%2025-2610831.0752659.160.54% Responding to questions in the parliament on the low fund utilisation, Harsh Malhotra, member of Lok Sabha, stated that although Rs. 10,831.07 crore had been allocated to the Ministry for the main scheme, the scheme itself could not be commenced, only a pilot project continuing thus far.Why are interns walking away?To assess the scheme’s impact and identify gaps, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) conducted an evaluation of the pilot’s first round in collaboration with Delhi School of Economics, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management. The findings point to several implementational challenges. The report notes that the Rs. 5,000 monthly stipend is often insufficient, particularly for candidates who must bear their own travel and accommodation costs, requiring enhanced financial support. Among 740 candidates who accepted offers but did not join, 61% cited ‘personal reasons’ and others pointed to ‘location constraints’ (16%), ‘low financial assistance’ (8%) and ‘lack of communication from companies’ (8%). Personal reasons largely included ‘pursuing higher education or preparing for competitive exams’ (36%) and ‘taking up other jobs’ (23%).Of 226 interns who left their internships midway, 39% cited personal issues, 21% location challenges, 12% financial constraints and 10% dissatisfaction with their assigned roles. Notably, most exits occurred within the first 15-30 days. Many respondents indicated they would consider rejoining if financial support were improved and accommodation or travel assistance provided, as per the report summary accessed via RTI. Parliamentary Committee’s FindingsThe Parliamentary Standing Committee, chaired by Bhartruhari Mahtab, also reviewed the scheme’s implementation and released its report on March 12, 2026. The committee observed that actual outcomes, in terms of intern joining, completion and fund utilisation, remain far below projections. Across both rounds, only 16,060 candidates joined internships, while the dropout rate in Round I was as high as 53.6%.The report also flagged gender disparities, noting that mobility, safety and relocation challenges may disproportionately affect female candidates, impacting their participation and retention decisions. The committee recommended enhancing the monthly stipend in line with prevailing living costs and introducing a graded support mechanism covering travel, relocation and accommodation assistance, particularly for women and candidates from rural or remote areas. In an RTI filed by me, I sought copies of the cabinet notes and minutes of the meetings that led to the scheme’s formation, which could potentially provide deeper insight into the rationale and planning behind the initiative, to which the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) replied that the information was not available with the PMIS division of MCA. The first appeal to the CPIO’s response was disposed off on April 6, claiming that the RTI application had already been answered based on the available information with the PMIS cell. No further action was taken. Suchak Patel is an independent writer.