Internship stipend in India by field: what the published figures show

What does internship stipend mean, and why is there no single average?

The AICTE Internship Policy: Guidelines and Procedures, the model rules the All India Council for Technical Education wrote for degree and diploma internships, calls internships either "compensated" or "non-compensated" and allows pay for only part of the time. A stipend is the money side of that: a sum paid to an intern while the internship runs. Whoever runs the internship sets who pays, how much and in what unit.

That is why the figures below sit in separate rows. Medical colleges report intern stipends to the National Medical Commission. Ministries print a sum in their own notices. On listing boards, each employer types its own figure. No document opened for this guide combines them into a national average, and adding them up would put a state government order in the same sum as a listing that may be gone next week.

One all-India figure does exist, and it is a job board's own arithmetic. Indeed's India page for the job title Intern states "The average salary for an Intern is ₹24,166 per month in India", based on "278 salaries taken from job postings on Indeed in the past 36 months, last updated on 17 September 2026".

The same page puts the typical range at ₹9,874 to ₹59,144 per month. Both figures are advertised pay on one board's postings for the job title Intern, and the page does not split them by field.

Field or route	Figure as the source words it	Who sets it	Source and date
MBBS internship, West Bengal government college	"UG-RS. 43099/-" (Raiganj Government Medical College, reported 22.12.2025)	State government and college	NMC stipend detail list
Ministry of External Affairs internship	"INR 10,000 per month", called an honorarium	The ministry	MEA internship portal, read 25 September 2026
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy internship	"Rs.15,000/- per month", for physical internships only	The ministry	MNRE programme page
PM Internship Scheme	"minimum financial assistance of ₹9,000 per month"	The scheme	PIB release, 22 April 2026
Computer science listings, first page	From "₹ 2,000 /month" to "₹ 1,00,000 - 1,50,000 /month"; 17 of 50 "Unpaid"	Each employer	Internshala, 25 September 2026
Summer research fellowship, science academies	"a monthly fellowship to meet their living expenses", amount not stated	The three academies	SRFP 2027 announcement, 10 September 2026

The words differ as much as the sums: stipend, honorarium, financial assistance, fellowship. Stipend, honorarium and incentive are pulled apart in the explainer on internship money words. For the Hindi terms, the English to Hindi internship vocabulary has them.

What stipend do MBBS interns get?

The internship stipend for MBBS differs by college and state: Government Medical College, Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir reported "UG-12300/-" on 09.12.2025, and the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, "UG-Rs.30070/-" in 2024. Both figures come from the National Medical Commission's stipend detail list, 804 numbered rows over 30 pages whose column headings name no period, so most rows do not say whether a figure is monthly.

Other rows, as printed:

• Datta Meghe Medical College, Nagpur (Maharashtra, listed as private), reported 09.12.2025: "UG-18000/-" and "UG-10000/-" in the two stipend columns.
• Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar (Odisha, trust), dated 2024: "UG-Rs.28000/-" and "UG-Rs.20000/-".
• Government Medical College, Patiala (Punjab, government), dated 2024: "UG-Rs.15000/-", with the second column "not mentioned".

Read the date on every row. Report dates run from 2023-24 to an entry marked "Updated 05.02.2026", and some rows give only a year. A 2024 figure may have been revised since. Some cells say "not mentioned", and at least one row, K.D. Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in Mathura, reads "Not Given".

The two columns can disagree. Ruxmaniben Deepchand Gardi Medical College, Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh, trust), dated 2024, shows "UG-RS.12760/-" in the state column and "UG- Not given" in the college column. Government Medical College, Ramagundam (Telangana, government), reported 07.01.2026, marks its entry "Given (only to FMG)" beside "UG-RS. 5000/-". The list does not expand FMG, so ask the college which interns the row covers.

Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (Karnataka, trust), dated 2024, shows "UG-Rs.30000/-" in the state column and "Given as mentioned by state Govt." in the college column. Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bangalore (trust), dated 2024, shows "UG-Rs.30000/-" and "UG-Rs.10000/-".

Two Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) colleges, both listed as government and dated 2024, differ: ESIC Medical College, Alwar reads "UG-Rs.21000/-" and "UG-Rs.20440/-", while the ESIC college at K.K. Nagar, Chennai has "not mentioned" in the state column and "UG-Rs.26300/-" in the college column. No row in the list names an All India Institute of Medical Sciences, so the internship stipend in AIIMS has to come from the institute itself.

For your own college, find its row by name and then ask the college office for the current order, because the NMC list is only what the college reported on the date shown.

What is the MBBS internship stipend in West Bengal?

West Bengal pays interns in its state medical teaching institutions under a state formula that rose by Rs. 10,000 a month from 1 April 2025. A Health and Family Welfare Department memorandum of 21 March 2025, posted by NRS Medical College, raises the "monthly stipend" of interns "by an amount of Rs. 10,000/- over and above the amount calculated" under a department memorandum dated 08/06/2020.

The memorandum states no total, so the post-April 2025 figure has to come from a college's own report. In the NMC list, Raiganj Government Medical College's row, reported 22.12.2025, reads "UG-RS. 43099/-" in both stipend columns. Purulia Government Medical College's row, with no report date, also shows "UG-Rs.43099/-".

Older rows show the figure before the rise. Calcutta National Medical College and North Bengal Medical College, both reported 23.04.24, read "UG-Rs.29733/-". Burdwan Medical College, reported 19.04.24, shows the same UG figure. The April 2025 rise falls between those report dates and the Raiganj one, so read each row as the figure on its own date.

Private and trust colleges in the state report their own sums. IQ-City Medical College, Burdwan, a trust college, reported on 02.05.24 a college figure of "UG-Rs.13600/-", with the state column "not mentioned".

What do ministry and commission internships pay?

The Ministry of External Affairs pays INR 10,000 a month as an honorarium "to defray basic costs", according to its MEA internship portal, in text written for the 2023-24 edition. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy offers Rs.15,000 per month "for physical internships only" on its MNRE page. Each body sets its sum in its own notice.

Each notice carries its own limits. MEA headquarters internships are open to graduates, and to final-year students only where an internship is a compulsory part of the final year; the age limit is 25 on 31 December of the internship year.

MEA covers one return air journey, up to the economy fare between the state capital and Delhi, but board and lodging in Delhi are the intern's own cost. The portal posted a notice for the 2026 Term II intake on 10 September 2026. The MNRE page was last updated on 23 January 2023 and points to a guidelines PDF, so check that PDF for the current terms before applying.

Some bodies pay without printing a figure. Delhi's child rights commission, DCPCR, says its full-time interns get what it calls a "modest stipend", plus reimbursement of official travel, for offline internships of 2 to 6 months. Ask for the amount in writing before you accept.

What do the PM Internship Scheme and apprenticeships pay?

The PM Internship Scheme is the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' programme of paid internships in large companies. Its latest terms are in a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release of 22 April 2026: a minimum of ₹9,000 a month in financial assistance, applications open to those aged 18 to 25, and final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students now allowed in with a No Objection Certificate signed at their college.

On the scheme's FAQ page the pilot's first terms still appear: ₹5,000 monthly, an age band of 21 to 24 and twelve months of internship. Go by the portal, pminternship.mca.gov.in, for what applies when you apply.

The remaining age and course rules are in the PM Internship Scheme eligibility explainer. Apprentices under the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme are paid a stipend aligned to the minimum rates prescribed under the Apprentices Act, 1961 for their category.

The NATS About page adds that the Government of India reimburses half of that stipend to the employer.

A PIB release of 26 May 2025 put the range under NAPS and NATS at ₹5,000 to ₹9,000 and reported a Central Apprenticeship Council recommendation to raise it by 36%, to ₹6,800 to ₹12,300. The Apprenticeship (Amendment) Rules, 2025, Gazette notification G.S.R. 610(E), made it the rule: from Rs. 6,800 a month for Class 5 to 9 pass-outs up to Rs. 12,300 for graduate apprentices.

The new rates apply from 11 September 2025, according to a Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship letter of 15 October 2025. Read your category's figure on the NATS portal.

What did computer science, marketing and HR listings show on 25 September 2026?

On 25 September 2026, the first page of Internshala's computer science internships held 50 listings, and 17 were marked "Unpaid". The marketing first page held 60 listings with one "Unpaid", and the HR first page 50 listings with one "Unpaid". The median lower end of the monthly figures, worked out here, was ₹8,000 for computer science, ₹10,000 for marketing and ₹7,500 for HR.

Field page	Count in page title	First-page listings	Marked "Unpaid"	Lowest lower end; highest upper end	Median lower figure (monthly listings)
Computer science	603	50	17	"₹ 2,000 /month"; "₹ 1,00,000 - 1,50,000 /month"	₹8,000 (33 listings)
Marketing	3841	60	1	"₹ 2,000 - 5,000 /month"; "₹ 8,000 - 70,000 /month"	₹10,000 (56 listings)
HR	598	50	1	"₹ 1,500 - 3,000 /month"; "₹ 20,000 - 22,000 /month"	₹7,500 (48 listings)

The median column is worked out here from the lower end of each monthly figure on the first page; it is not a figure the board publishes. Marketing also had two weekly figures and one "Performance Based" listing, and HR one "₹ 15,000 lump sum", which sit outside the monthly count. Where a marketing listing turns out to be social media work, the social media internship guide covers the role.

The highest computer science figure stood alone: the next highest on that page was "₹ 60,000 - 80,000 /month". A single listing that high moves an average far more than it moves a median, which is why the table gives the median. These are snapshots of one page on one day, so treat every count here as dated.

AICTE's model allows an internship without pay, as the policy quoted earlier shows. For the law on an employer taking interns without pay, read the unpaid internship legality guide. A listing that calls itself "free" may mean something else again, which the comparison of free and unpaid internships sorts out.

What does a performance-based stipend mean?

A performance-based stipend is pay that depends on what you deliver, and the listing label alone does not say how much. On 25 September 2026, one first-page marketing listing and one first-page CSR listing on Internshala showed "Performance Based" where a figure would go; both were campus ambassador roles, and neither label stated a fixed sum or a unit.

A two-week business development listing the same day showed "₹ 4,000 - 10,000 /week" in its stipend field, while its description set out "Fixed: ₹2,000 Incentive: ₹2,000 additional for every converted lead". The fixed part carries no unit in the text. The headline range and the guaranteed amount are different numbers, and only the second is certain.

Apprentices are treated differently by law. Section 13(2) of the Apprentices Act, 1961 says an apprentice "shall not be paid by his employer on the basis of piece work nor shall he be required to take part in any output bonus or other incentive scheme". That rule covers apprentices engaged under the Act. For any other internship, the written offer is where the terms are set.

Before accepting such a role, get three things in writing: the fixed amount and its unit, what counts as a converted lead or a completed target, and when incentives are paid. If a role asks you to pay a fee before any stipend, stop there. Applying for any of these follows the same order of steps, set out in the step-by-step guide to getting an internship.

Do research internships and science fellowships pay?

Yes. The Science Academies Summer Research Fellowship Programme 2027 announcement, dated 10 September 2026, gives selected students "entitled round trip train fare and a monthly fellowship to meet their living expenses at the place of work", but it names no amount.

The fellowships are run jointly by the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy and The National Academy of Sciences, India, and last two months, preferably in summer. Applications are open to students of colleges and universities affiliated to UGC, AICTE, MCI, accredited institutions and private universities.

The last date for online applications is 30 November 2026, and selections are to be sent around March to April 2027. Each student applicant names one teacher, whom the Academy approaches for a recommendation letter. Look for the amount in the instructions inside the online application, and treat a figure on any other page as unconfirmed.

Some research internships for medical students do print a sum. The Indian Institute of Science's MBBS/MPH internship programme offered "a stipend of INR 35000 (consolidated)" for 4 to 8 weeks at its Bengaluru campus in 2026, with no hostel. It was open to MBBS students in Phase 3 part 2, or finishing Phase 3 part 1 before September 2026, and to MPH students who had completed their first year; students already in MBBS internship could not apply. The 2026 deadline, 10 April 2026, has passed.