Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman interacted with 86 interns of the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) in New Delhi, drawn from over 24 partner companies. Separately, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) held the PMIS Industry Awards on August 14, 2026, and named Mahindra & Mahindra the Overall Industry Champion for the pilot phase of PMIS.
PMIS is part of the Prime Minister's package of five initiatives to facilitate employment, skill development and other opportunities for Indian youth over five years. It offers paid internships in top companies across sectors, with practical workplace exposure, industry experience and structured engagement meant to support skilling, reskilling and upskilling.
Sitharaman said the scheme was designed after extensive consultation with industry. Employers expect fresh graduates to be workplace-ready, she said, while many young graduates need practical exposure to meet that expectation. PMIS, in her words as relayed by the ministry, helps bridge the gap through hands-on experience. The ministry linked the interaction to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
The Minister asked the interns what had motivated them to join, what they had learnt, which skills they had gained and what they hoped to do next. She said PMIS does not restrict candidates by academic qualification and lets young people pursue internships in areas that interest them. She also advised them to work with focus and responsibility, since even small mistakes can affect others, including end consumers, and may harm a company's quality and reputation.
Several interns who excelled have been offered full-time roles. Naina, from Uttar Pradesh, interned with Alkem in Daman, moved far from home with her family's support and received a full-time offer from the company. Dhruv Gupta from Delhi, who comes from an IT background, interned with the National Stock Exchange of India and wants a fintech career that combines technical and financial skills. Parul Rajput from Haryana, placed at a Hero MotoCorp two-wheeler plant, said she feels a strong sense of responsibility because every component must meet the highest quality and safety standards.
The MCA organised the awards in New Delhi as part of Independence Day celebrations, to recognise partner companies' contribution to implementing PMIS in its pilot phase. The Secretary, MCA, chaired the event, which was attended by senior ministry officials, industry representatives and more than 100 current and former interns. The awards covered companies that showed commitment to nurturing young talent, creating high-quality internships and adopting effective internship management.
Among the main awards, HDFC Bank won the Pre-Internship Excellence Award, Shriram Finance the Internship Management Excellence Award, IBM India the Innovation in Program Implementation Award, and Power Grid Corporation of India the Innovation in Exit Pathways Award. Top PSU Partners and Top Private Partners were also recognised.
Sectoral champions included Central Coalfields (metals and mining), ITC (FMCG), DCM Shriram (agriculture and allied), Dr. Lal PathLabs (healthcare), the National Stock Exchange of India (banking and financial services), Tech Mahindra (IT and software development), Larsen & Toubro (infrastructure and construction), Mahindra & Mahindra (automotive), Reliance Industries (diversified conglomerates) and Tata Consumer Products (retail and consumer durables). Pharmaceutical and oil, gas and energy were also sectoral categories.
A Mahindra & Mahindra representative said the Mahindra Group had welcomed 1,000 interns, nearly five times the number in Round II, and that PMIS had grown from a budding initiative into a programme operating at scale.
Western Coalfields Limited said the scheme helped attract young people to collieries in rural and semi-urban areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where sourcing interns had been difficult. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories recalled an intern who used the PMIS certificate to gain admission to a pharmaceutical course at Long Island University, Brooklyn. IBM said interns' fresh perspectives, curiosity and willingness to learn had enriched teams and supported innovation.
With reference to the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS), consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Award : Winning company
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Consider the following sectoral champions named at the PMIS Industry Awards:
Company : Sector
Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
