Internship at NITI Aayog, New Delhi (August 2026 Window; 6 Weeks to 6 Months, Unpaid)

NITI Aayog, the Government of India's apex public policy think tank, runs a standing internship scheme that engages students pursuing undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate degrees, as well as research scholars, enrolled in recognised universities and institutions in India or abroad. Interns are attached to NITI Aayog's verticals, divisions and units at Sansad Marg, New Delhi, and are expected to supplement the Aayog's analysis through empirical collection and collation of in-house and other information.

The scheme's stated objectives are to associate young academic talent with NITI Aayog's work, and to give interns an opportunity to understand government functioning and developmental policy issues while contributing policy inputs such as empirical analysis, briefing reports and policy papers.

Applications are accepted online only, from the 1st (00:00 hrs) to the 10th (23:59 hrs) of every month. No other mode of application is accepted. The current window is therefore open from 1 August 2026 to 10 August 2026.

An application may be made up to six months in advance but not later than two months before the month in which the internship is desired, and the application is valid only for the desired month indicated. On the live application form, the Desired Month for Internship dropdown in this window offers October 2026, November 2026, December 2026, January 2027, February 2027 and March 2027. A candidate can apply for the internship only once during a financial year.

• Undergraduate students: must have completed or appeared in the term-end exams of the second year / 4th semester of the bachelor's degree course, and secured not less than 85% or equivalent marks in Class 12.
• Graduate and postgraduate students: must have completed or appeared in the term-end exams of the first year / 2nd semester of their postgraduate programme, or be pursuing research / PhD, and have secured not less than 70% or equivalent marks in graduation.
• Recent graduates: students who have appeared in the final exam or just completed graduation or post-graduation and are awaiting admission to higher studies may also be considered, provided they have secured 70% or more cumulative marks across all years or semesters till the date of application, and the gap between the month the final result is declared and the desired month of internship does not exceed six months.

Applications that do not fulfil the eligibility conditions are rejected automatically by the system.

Applicants must clearly indicate a single area of interest while applying. The list on the live application form includes LAW as a distinct option, alongside Governance, Public Finance and Policy Analysis, Public Finances / Budget, Public Private Partnership, Social Justice and Empowerment, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, SDG, Security and Strategic Affairs, Natural Resources, Environment and Forests, Skill Development and Employment, Urbanization / Smart City, Data Management and Analysis, Frontier Tech Hub and the Viksit Bharat Perspective Planning and Visioning Division, among others.

Indicating an option does not reserve any right to be offered that sector; allocation is subject to availability and at the discretion of NITI Aayog.

The internship period is at least six weeks and not exceeding six months. The guidelines state in terms that the internship will be on an unpaid basis. Interns are required to have their own laptops; NITI Aayog provides working space, internet facility and other necessities as deemed fit by the concerned heads.

A certificate of successful completion is issued by the Adviser of the concerned subject division in the format annexed to the scheme guidelines. Interns who do not complete the requisite period are not issued any certificate. A minimum of 75% attendance is mandatory, with daily marking of in and out time; below that, no extension of the internship period is allowed and no experience certificate is issued.

All applications received online are made available to the heads of the concerned verticals, divisions and units and to the OSDs, Senior Consultants and Consultants at NITI Aayog for scrutiny and selection. A head of a vertical, division or unit may take a maximum of three interns at a time, relaxable beyond three with the permission of the CEO, NITI Aayog. The decision of the Adviser on the suitability of a candidate is final and binding, and lists of selected candidates are uploaded on the NITI Aayog website.

Selected candidates must produce original mark sheets and a No Objection Certificate from their college or institution at the time of joining, failing which the candidature is cancelled. The NOC must also state that the student will not be registered for any course requiring classroom attendance during the internship period. Interns are required to submit a brief report or paper on their learning experience at the end of the assignment.

Apply through the online application form on the NITI Aayog Internship Management System at workforindia.niti.gov.in between 1 and 10 August 2026. Fill in the form using details exactly as they appear on the Class 10 certificate, convert any CGPA or grade into an equivalent percentage, select a single area of interest, and use the Preview button to check the entries before final submission. Note the registration number generated after submission for future reference.

Printouts of the online application and supporting documents need not be posted. For queries, write to Admin-IB at recruitment-niti[at]gov[dot]in; for website related issues, write to the NITI Aayog unit of the National Informatics Centre at nic-niti[at]gov[dot]in.