New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- The Prime Minister's Internship Scheme (PMIS), one of the Modi government's flagship initiatives aimed at boosting youth skilling and employability, has faced a sharp funding cut in the FY27 Union Budget presented on Sunday. The scheme was allocated Rs.4,799.96 crore for FY27, less than half of the over Rs.10,000 crore earmarked for it in FY26, following unspent funds and a lukewarm response from candidates.

Revised estimates show that the corporate affairs ministry spent just Rs.541.4 crore on PMIS in FY26, around 5% of the scheme's budget, despite the scheme accounting for nearly 94% of the ministry's total Rs.11,561.19 crore allocation. For FY27, Mint analysis shows that 86.3% of the ministry's budget has been set...