Union Budget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman increases allocation for PM Internship Scheme | All you need to know

In her Union Budget 2025, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the allocation for the PM Internship Scheme, a key initiative aimed at providing students and trained youth with valuable work experience.

Originally announced as a pilot project for 2024-25 with a budget outlay of ₹2,000 crore, the scheme focused on placing young interns in the top 500 companies across the country.

Union Budget 2025 LIVE: Sitharaman cheers middle class, makes income up to ₹12 lakh tax free

“The PM Internship Scheme in top 500 companies was announced as a pilot project for 2024-25 with a budget outlay of ₹2000 cr. The scheme has received subdued traction from both companies and students reflecting in utilisation estimated to be at 380 Cr. in revised estimates," said Ashok Varma, Partner, Social Sector Grant Thornton Bharat LLP.

Also Read | Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2025 speech lasts 1 hour 14 minutes. Is it her shortest address yet?

“Despite the challenges in implementation, the Government seems to be betting big on the scheme to aid “transitioning to work” for students and trained youths,” he added.

PM Internship Scheme: All you need to know

• Announced in the Budget 2024-25, the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS Scheme) aimed to provide internship opportunities to one crore youth in the top 500 companies in five years.
• As an initiation to this Scheme, a Pilot Project of the Scheme targeted at providing 1.25 lakh internship opportunities was launched on October 3, 2024, for the Financial Year 2024-25.
• The top 500 companies have been identified by the Ministry based on their average CSR expenditure of the last three years.
• The scheme was implemented through an online portal accessible at https://pminternship.mca.gov.in.
• Under the PMIS, the Centre has committed to offering each intern a monthly allowance of ₹5,000 for 12 months, along with a one-time aid of ₹6,000.
• Several firms including industry giants like Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, and Maruti Suzuki have already taken to the portal to offer internships.
• According to a report by TeamLease Edtech, 81% of surveyed companies support the scheme and recognise its potential to build a future-ready workforce.