The Ministry of Women and Child Development operates an Internship Programme for Women, initiated with revised guidelines in 2024, aimed at empowering women through short-term association with the Ministry. The program is open to women students, scholars, social activists, and teachers aged 21-40. Interns gain exposure to the Ministry's policies and schemes, contributing to policy formulation through empirical analysis, reporting, and policy papers, thereby addressing information gaps related to women and children's issues. The program includes opportunities to work on pilot projects and micro-studies related to the Ministry's activities. To ensure diverse representation, interns are selected based on working status (working/non-working), location (rural/urban), and zonal representation (North, South, East, West, Central, and Northeast zones), with priority given to talented women from non-tier 1 cities and rural areas. The internship program runs in four batches throughout the financial year: May-June, August-September, November-December, and February-March. Each batch is two months long and accommodates up to 20 interns.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Women and Child Development: The central ministry responsible for the Internship Programme for Women and related policies.
Internship Programme for Women: A program by the Ministry of Women and Child Development aimed at empowering women through short-term associations and policy exposure.
SHRI UJJWAL RAMAN SINGH: Member of Lok Sabha who raised questions about the Internship Programme for Women.
SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR: Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, who provided the answer to the questions about the Internship Programme for Women.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the question regarding the Internship Programme for Women was raised.
2024: Year from which revised guidelines for the Internship Programme for Women were implemented.
North, South, East, West, Central and NorthEast zones: Zones in India from which interns are selected to enhance regional diversity.
nontier1 cities and rural areas: Geographic locations from which the government prioritizes talented women for participation in the Internship Programme for Women.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3415
TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2025
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN
3415. SHRI UJJWAL RAMAN SINGH:
Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched its internship
programme with the aim of empowering girl students, teachers, social workers and
women;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether women applicants are proposed to be divided into categories for participation
in the programme, if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government also proposes to provide an opportunity to the selected women
to work in other pilot projects and micro-studies conducted by the Ministry during the
Internship, if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the Government proposes to give priority to talented women particularly those
coming from non-tier-1 cities and rural areas to participate in this programme; and
(f) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)
(a) to (f) Ministry of Women and Child Development operates an Internship Programme for
Women with revised guidelines since 2024. Women students, scholars, social activists and
teachers in age group 21-40 years are eligible for the internship programme. The programme
is meant to orient interns about the policies and schemes of the Ministry by offering short-term
association, including pilot projects/micro studies focusing on the ongoing activities of the
Ministry. After successful completion of their internship, it is expected that interns would be
able to contribute to policy formulation by giving inputs in the form of empirical analysis,
reporting, policy papers etc., and thereby bridging information gaps on issues pertaining to
women and children in the country.
In order to ensure representation and diversity, interns are selected from working and
Non-Working; Rural and Urban; and Zone wise categories. Working Group comprises teachers,
scholars and social activists, whereas Non-Working Group comprises students enrolled in
undergraduate or postgraduate programmes. Further, interns are selected from State/UTs falling
under North, South, East, West, Central and North-East zones, as well as from non-tier-I cities
and rural areas to enhance regional diversity.
As per the revised guidelines, the internship programme is offered in four batches by
the Ministry throughout a financial year: May-June, August-September, November-December
and February-March. Each batch is of two months duration and up to 20 interns are engaged in
each batch.
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