Internship Scheme for PG/Research Students in Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR)

What is the DGTR Internship Scheme?

The Internship Scheme for PG/Research Students in the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is a short academic internship offered by DGTR, an attached office of the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. DGTR is India's apex national authority for administering trade-remedy measures: anti-dumping, countervailing duty and safeguard investigations that protect domestic industry against unfair or injurious imports.

The internship gives postgraduate students and research scholars, preferably in Law or Economics, a chance to observe and assist with the analytical and legal work behind trade-remedy investigations. According to the scheme details on the myScheme portal, no financial aid or stipend is provided to interns. The benefit is the exposure and the completion certificate, not a payment.

This is a niche, institution-facing scheme rather than a mass benefit. Its value lies in the specialised experience of working within India's trade-remedies machinery, which is relevant to careers in international trade law, economics and policy.

Key features

• Open to PG students and research scholars, preferably Law or Economics.
• Unpaid — no stipend or financial aid.
• Minimum duration of one month, extendable up to a semester if part of curriculum.
• Offline application via the prescribed proforma, at least one month in advance.

Who is eligible for the DGTR Internship Scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a postgraduate student or research scholar at a recognised university or institute.
• You are preferably from a Law or Economics stream relevant to trade-remedy work.
• The internship will be part of your course curriculum or undertaken during your annual vacation.
• You can obtain a forwarding/permission letter from your supervisor or head of department.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an undergraduate student, the scheme is limited to PG and research students.
• You cannot secure a forwarding letter from your institution.
• You apply less than one month before your intended joining date, as applications must reach DGTR at least a month in advance.

Even for eligible applicants, selection is not automatic. DGTR decides the number of interns it can accommodate based on its workload and requirements, and it reserves the right to accept or decline any application.

What documents are required for the DGTR internship?

How to apply for the DGTR internship

1. Download the prescribed application proforma from the DGTR website, dgtr.gov.in.
2. Fill in the proforma completely with your academic details and the period for which you seek the internship.
3. Obtain a forwarding or permission letter from your supervisor or head of department, confirming that the internship is part of your curriculum or falls in your vacation.
4. Submit the application by post or hand delivery to the DGTR General Administration Section. Ensure it reaches DGTR at least one month before your intended joining date.
5. Await DGTR's decision. If selected, join on the agreed date and follow the Directorate's rules on confidentiality and conduct.
6. Submit a completion report or paper at the end of the internship to receive your completion certificate.

What benefit does the DGTR internship provide?

The DGTR internship is unpaid. The Directorate provides no stipend or financial aid. The tangible benefit is the completion certificate and the specialised, hands-on exposure to trade-remedy investigations, which is difficult to obtain elsewhere. For students of trade law or international economics, the experience of working alongside DGTR's investigators and analysts is the core value of the placement.

DGTR is explicit that the internship is not employment and gives no assurance of a future job. The Directorate can terminate an internship at any time without assigning a reason, and the internship policy itself is subject to review and amendment.

Help and contact

• DGTR portal: https://www.dgtr.gov.in/
• Application proforma and current internship notices: published on the DGTR website, dgtr.gov.in

DGTR does not publish a dedicated internship helpline. Prospective interns should refer to the DGTR website for the current proforma and the address of the General Administration Section, and should send applications well in advance of the intended start date.

How to check your application status

The DGTR internship is handled entirely offline, through the General Administration Section, so there is no online tracking portal, application ID, or SMS update system for it. Because of this, checking status means following up directly with the office that received your papers.

• Confirm delivery first. If you sent your application by post, keep the postal receipt or courier tracking number. If you hand-delivered it, note the date, the name of the official who received it, and ask for an acknowledgement or an inward diary/receipt number if the section offers one. This is your only proof the application reached DGTR.
• Wait out the minimum lead time. Since applications must reach DGTR at least one month before the intended joining date, do not expect a response before that window has largely passed. Following up too early rarely gets a useful answer, since the file may not have been reviewed yet.
• Follow up in writing or by visit. DGTR does not publish a dedicated internship helpline or email ID for status queries. The practical route is to write a follow-up letter or email referencing your original application date and the proforma details, addressed to the General Administration Section, or to visit the office in person if you are Delhi-based (DGTR is headquartered in New Delhi).
• Check the DGTR website periodically. Any internship-related notices, updated proformas, or intern intake announcements are posted on dgtr.gov.in. There is no login or dashboard for individual applicants, so this only helps you catch policy changes, not the status of your specific file.
• Treat silence as pending, not rejection. DGTR decides intern numbers based on its own workload, and there is no committed turnaround time in the public scheme documentation. If you have not heard back and your joining date is approaching, a polite follow-up call or letter is reasonable, but there is no fixed escalation ladder to invoke.

Once selected, DGTR communicates the joining date and reporting instructions directly to the applicant, generally through the same channel (post, email, or phone) used in the original correspondence. Keep a copy of everything you submit, since there is no way to retrieve or resubmit documents through an online system if a letter goes missing at DGTR's end.

Common reasons for rejection

Because this is a small-scale, discretionary internship rather than an entitlement scheme, most rejections are not about disqualifying eligibility but about paperwork and timing gaps that are easy to avoid.

• Application submitted less than a month before the intended start date. DGTR's stated requirement is that the application reach the office at least one month in advance. A late submission is one of the most common reasons an otherwise-eligible candidate is turned away. Fix: calendar your submission date backward from your desired joining date, and add a buffer for postal transit time if you are not hand-delivering.
• No forwarding or permission letter from the institution. DGTR expects the application to be routed or endorsed through the applicant's supervisor or head of department, confirming that the internship fits into the course curriculum or vacation period. An application without this letter is incomplete. Fix: get the forwarding letter signed and dated before you finalise your submission, not after.
• Applicant is an undergraduate student. The scheme is explicitly restricted to postgraduate students and research scholars. Undergraduate applications, even from Law or Economics students, fall outside the eligibility criteria and are not entertained. Fix: undergraduates should look for other internship routes and reapply once enrolled in a PG or research programme.
• Proof of enrolment missing or unclear. If the application does not clearly establish that the applicant is currently a PG or research student at a recognised university or institute, DGTR has no basis to confirm eligibility. Fix: attach a current bonafide certificate, ID card copy, or admission/enrolment letter alongside the proforma.
• Incomplete or generic proforma. Since there is no digital form validation, a proforma submitted with blank fields, an unclear proposed internship period, or no indication of subject background (Law/Economics preferred) is more likely to be set aside than followed up on. Fix: fill every field on the prescribed proforma completely, and state your academic background and area of interest clearly.
• No slots available at the time of application. DGTR decides how many interns it can accommodate based on its own workload and capacity, not on a fixed quota. Even a complete, timely, eligible application can be declined simply because the Directorate has no room to place an intern that cycle. Fix: there is no appeal mechanism for this; reapplying for a later period, clearly stating flexible timing, is the only practical option.
• Wrong or outdated proforma used. Using an old version of the application form, or a generic internship request letter instead of the DGTR-specific proforma, can cause the application to be treated as incomplete. Fix: always download the current proforma directly from dgtr.gov.in before submitting, rather than reusing a saved copy from an earlier cycle.

Since DGTR does not issue formal rejection letters explaining the specific reason in most cases, applicants who are not selected typically simply do not hear back. Building in the lead time, the forwarding letter, and complete proof of enrolment from the outset avoids the majority of these outcomes.