ICAI to Onboard 25 CA Firms Under PM Internship Scheme, Targets 2,000 Interns:

ICAI to Onboard 25 CA Firms Under PM Internship Scheme, Targets 2,000 Interns The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will onboard 25 medium and large chartered accountancy firms under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS), creating internship opportunities in areas such as accounting, taxation, auditing, and compliance for eligible candidates. ICAI President said that 25 chartered accountancy firms with at least 10 partners will be registered under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme by next week. The first batch of interns is expected to start joining from next month. He also said that they are beginning with 25 firms to understand the implementation process and resolve any operational challenges. Once the required systems and procedures are established, the programme can be expanded to all eligible firms.

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ICAI plans to target around 2,000 interns under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme by the end of this year. The Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS), which started in 2024, plans to offer internships to one crore youths during the next five years. The interns under PMIS will get an amount of Rs 9,000 per month, wherein the government will pay Rs 8,100 and the employers will give the rest. However, initially CA firms were not able to participate in the scheme, owing to the fact that the employer contribution had to be made from CSR funds, which did not include any firm by profession. But later on, this problem was sorted out between ICAI and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

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Since the PMIS program has come to be in its third iteration, the scope of work for the ICAI is not limited to that of a stakeholder anymore; they have become partners in the implementation process as well. The president of the ICAI remarked that the inclusion of chartered accountancy firms in PMIS would ensure internships in accounting, auditing, taxation, and finance, among other things. According to ICAI, the scheme will initially be implemented through firms with sufficient professional infrastructure and the capacity to effectively mentor and supervise interns. Based on insights gained during the pilot phase, the programme is expected to be gradually extended to a wider network of CA firms across the country.

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The inclusion of chartered accountancy firms in the Prime Minister Internship Scheme (PMIS) is expected to help tackle one of the programme’s key challenges, which is low participation and high dropout rates. Launched in October 2024, the first round of PMIS generated over 82,000 internship offers for more than 60,000 candidates. But in reality, only 8,760 candidates enrolled into the program and close to 54 per cent of those candidates failed to complete the program. Up till March 2026, only 3,605 interns were able to successfully complete their internship period. In the second round initiated in April 2025, participating firms made internship offers to 83,000+ internships to 71,000 candidates, but only 7,300 candidates were able to enroll. In both the rounds, close to 7,200 interns quit the program before completion.

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Responding to the Parliament, the MCA pointed out that one of the reasons behind the poor conversion ratio in PMIS was the geographic limitation since many candidates have to move away from their hometowns to grab the internship opportunity. According to the president of ICAI, the vast number of Chartered Accounting Firms in the country, especially outside metro cities, can be helpful in improving participation and retention through proximity.

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He further stated that the availability of CA firms in Tier II and Tier III cities could ensure that internship opportunities get closer to potential candidates. PMIS interns at CA firms would get good training and exposure in fields like finance, taxation, audit, and compliance, and not just in clerical work. Although the internship does not ensure a job at the end, it is expected to make the interns more skilled and employable.