Paid Winter Internship Programme 2026 at National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi (Stipend Rs 12,000, 100 Seats)

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has announced its four-week Winter Internship Programme (WIP) 2026, to be held in person at New Delhi from 14 December 2026 (Monday) to 8 January 2027 (Friday). The Commission, mandated under Section 12(h) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to spread awareness on human rights, has run Winter and Summer Internship Programmes since 1998 and 2000 respectively. Applications are invited from eligible students across the country.

• Students who have completed the 1st year and are pursuing the 2nd or 3rd year of a 3-year LLB.
• Students who have completed 3 years or Semester VI of a 5-year integrated course (BA LLB, BBA LLB etc.) and are in the 4th or 5th year.
• Students pursuing LLM.
• Students pursuing PG Diploma in Human Rights, MA in Human Rights, and PG students of Political Science, Sociology, Social Work (MSW), Criminology, Public Administration, Rural Development, History, Economics, Commerce, Anthropology, Mass Communication, International Relations or any social science discipline, with preference to final-year students.
• Only students of regular courses of UGC-recognised universities are eligible.
• Minimum 60% marks in Class XII and in each of the first 6 semesters of the graduation or five-year integrated course.
• Age not more than 28 years as on 01.10.2026.
• Students who have attended a regular one-month NHRC Winter or Summer Internship Programme earlier cannot apply.
• Reservation applies for SC/ST/OBC/PwD as per Government of India guidelines (attach a self-attested caste or disability certificate). Efforts will be made to represent all States and UTs, subject to applications and merit.

A maximum of 100 students will be admitted, and a further 20 students from Delhi and the NCR may be kept on a wait list (called only if an intern drops out, no later than the second day of the programme).

Merit is calculated out of 100 marks: Class XII (30 marks), graduation (40 marks) and a 250-word write-up on Reason for joining as Intern in NHRC (30 marks). The write-up, submitted in the online form, also serves as the Statement of Purpose; students with research potential in human rights areas will be preferred. The final list of selected interns will be displayed on the NHRC website.

About 55 to 60 sessions on human rights issues, including:

• Classroom sessions
• Interaction with the Chairperson, Members and senior officers of NHRC
• Research project work on human rights issues and a book review activity
• Films on human rights with discussion (child labour, anti-trafficking, rights of the elderly, health and education)
• Field visits to police stations, a jail, NGOs, Parliament House, the National Commissions for Women, Minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Protection of Child Rights, the National Green Tribunal, NALSA and the Supreme Court of India

Attendance at all sessions is mandatory and leave applications will not be entertained.

• Stipend: Rs 12,000 to every selected intern who successfully completes the internship.
• Travel: interns from outside Delhi get Sleeper AC 3 Tier train fare to New Delhi and back to their place of study by the shortest route.
• A kit/bag, a temporary identity card, library and internet facilities.
• Tea and snacks twice a day and lunch on working days; packed lunches on field visits.
• Interns must arrange their own accommodation and local transport for the whole programme.

There is no application fee.

• Attested scanned mark-sheets of Class X, Class XII and each of the first 6 semesters of the graduation or five-year integrated course.
• A Letter of Recommendation from the Principal/HOD/Dean of your institution in the Annexure I proforma, with name, signature, date and seal, dated after the advertisement and for the course you are currently pursuing.
• The 250-word Statement of Purpose (typed into the online form).
• The online portal also asks for the I-card of your current course and a passport-size photo (JPEG, up to 70 KB); documents in PDF, up to 2 MB each.

Applications missing any of these are liable to be rejected.

Apply only through the online form on the NHRC portal (the link Winter Internship 2026 on nhrc.nic.in). Verify your mobile number and email by OTP, fill in your marks as percentages, upload the documents and final-submit to get an application number. Do not use prefixes such as Mr./Mrs./Ms. in the form. Applications sent by email or post will not be entertained, and any discrepancy in marks leads to rejection and a bar from future NHRC programmes.

Last date: 15 October 2026, 18:00 hours.