Newsroom, December 03, 2025: The flagship PM Internship Scheme, launched in October 2024 to bridge India's youth unemployment chasm by placing 1.25 lakh interns in top firms, has stumbled in its pilot phase, with a staggering 79.8% rejection rate of offers and 19.9% dropout among acceptors, underscoring a stark mismatch between government ambitions and young aspirations.
Across two rounds, companies extended 1.65 lakh opportunities, but just 33,300 (20.2%) were taken up, per Labour Ministry data. In the first round, 82,000 offers yielded a mere 8,700 acceptances (10.6%), half of whom (4,565) bailed before finishing. The second fared better at 30% uptake (24,600 of 83,000), but 2,053 still quit early, highlighting persistent hurdles in a nation where 42% of graduates remain jobless.
The root causes are clear from surveys: 60% cited unsuitable roles or long 12-month tenures, while 40% baulked at distant locations beyond a 5-10 km commute, clashing with urban youth's preference for flexible, nearby gigs.
"The scheme's rigidity ignores the reality of gig economy dreams," said a Delhi-based career counsellor, noting how short-skilling programs like those from NSDC attract more takers. With only Rs 73.72 crore spent of the Rs 840 crore budget (slashed to Rs 380 crore), the pilot's tepid results prompt questions on scalability amid a 2025 youth unemployment rate hovering at 23%.
