CAG Student Internship Programme

What is the CAG Student Internship Programme?

The Student Internship Programme is run by the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India through its Knowledge and Capacity Building Wing. According to the CAG office, the scheme engages students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate degrees or research as interns, giving them exposure to the various functional wings of the CAG and to the working of public sector auditing and accounting.

The current governing document is the CAG Internship Scheme notified on 7 July 2026, which states that it supersedes all internship schemes existing in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD). It replaced an earlier Student Intern Programme (SIP) that had paid a token remuneration of Rs 12,000 per month. Under the current scheme, the internship is on an unpaid basis.

Objectives of the scheme

• To allow young academic talent to be associated with the CAG's work for mutual benefit.
• To give interns an opportunity to learn about government functioning, public sector auditing and accounting, and to contribute inputs such as empirical analysis, briefing reports and policy papers.

Internship is available throughout the year based on the requirements of the CAG, across a defined list of domains (Annexure A of the scheme) ranging from data management and analysis, economics, public finances and taxation to information systems, law and statistics.

Who is eligible for the CAG internship?

Bonafide students of any recognised university or institution within India or abroad who meet the following conditions can apply.

You can apply if you are:

• An undergraduate student who has completed or appeared in the term-end exams of the second year / 4th semester of a bachelor's degree course and secured not less than 80% (or equivalent) in Class 12.
• A graduate student who has completed or appeared in the term-end exams of the first year / 2nd semester of a postgraduate programme, or is pursuing research/PhD, and secured not less than 60% (or equivalent) in graduation.
• A student who has appeared in the final exam or just completed graduation/PG and is awaiting admission for higher studies, provided you have 60% or more cumulative marks and the gap between your result declaration and the desired internship month does not exceed six months.

You cannot apply if:

• You do not meet the minimum marks to 80% in Class 12 for undergraduates or 60% in graduation for postgraduate/research applicants.
• You are not a bonafide student of a recognised university/institution, or cannot produce an NOC from your college certifying you are free from class attendance during the internship.
• You have already interned with CAG twice in the same financial year — a candidate can apply only twice per financial year.
• You are a recent graduate whose result was declared more than six months before the desired internship month.

Applicants who do not fulfil the eligibility conditions have their applications rejected, and selected applicants who cannot produce original marksheets and the NOC at joining have their candidature cancelled.

Is there a stipend?

Under the 2026 CAG Internship Scheme, the internship is unpaid. Interns must bring their own laptops; the CAG provides working space, internet facility and other necessities as deemed fit. A certificate of successful completion is issued by the Head of the Functional Wing, provided the intern completes the required period and maintains at least 75% attendance.

For historical context, the earlier Student Intern Programme (SIP) paid a token remuneration of Rs 12,000 per month (all inclusive), payable on satisfactory completion and submission of a report. That scheme has been superseded; applicants should treat the current internship as unpaid unless the CAG issues a fresh notification stating otherwise.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the CAG internship

According to the CAG Internship Scheme, the process is online and runs on a monthly cycle:

1. Apply online through the intern application form at training.cag.gov.in/InternForm.aspx between the 1st and the 20th of any month, clearly indicating your area of interest.
2. The Capacity Building Wing processes your application and, based on your profile, maps you to an appropriate functional wing within about 10 working days.
3. Receive your appointment order from the Establishment Section if selected, and attend an orientation session with the Deputy/Additional Deputy CAG of the wing, who assigns you a mentor.
4. Submit your NOC from your Head of Department/Principal within the time given, and produce original marksheets at joining for verification.
5. Complete the internship with at least 75% attendance and submit a brief report on your learning experience at the end.

Applications received up to the 20th of each month are scrutinised and mapped to the concerned wing. The decision of the Head of the functional wing on the suitability of a candidate is final and binding.

Where interns are posted and what they do

The place of posting is the office of the CAG at New Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati or Rajkot; separate guidelines cover the field offices of the IA&AD. Interns are attached to functional wings, given exposure to important seminars and presentations, and must return all official materials and submit feedback at the end. The provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 apply.

The scheme states clearly that the internship is neither a job nor any assurance of a job in the office of the CAG or the IA&AD.

Points applicants most often get wrong

• The current internship is unpaid. The Rs 12,000 token remuneration belonged to the superseded SIP.
• Apply only between the 1st and 20th of a month.
• You can intern at most twice in a financial year.
• 75% attendance is compulsory for the completion certificate.