NHAI Launches Internship Portal 2026: ₹20,000/Month Stipend, 600+ Seats Across 150 Highway Projects

Looking to gain real on-ground experience in India’s largest infrastructure projects? The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has officially launched a nationwide paid internship program along with a dedicated internship portal, opening doors for engineering students to work directly on live national highway projects.

Launched in association with the Department of Higher Education, Government of India, this initiative is aimed at building future-ready professionals through hands-on exposure, generous stipends, and structured learning aligned with NEP 2020.

About NHAI Internship Program 2026

The newly launched NHAI Internship Program is designed as a gateway for students to gain practical, field-based and managerial exposure within India’s massive national highway development ecosystem.

The program was officially launched by Shri Vineet Joshi (Secretary, Department of Higher Education) and Shri Santosh Kumar Yadav (Chairman, NHAI) in the presence of senior officials from NHAI, Ministry of Education and AICTE.

Dedicated NHAI Internship Portal – What’s New?

To ensure transparency and equal access, NHAI has launched a dedicated Internship Portal that will:

• Offer internships across 150+ National Highway projects

• Allow up to 4 interns per project

• Create opportunities for nearly 600 students in the first phase

• Be open to students from IITs, NITs & AICTE-approved institutes

This makes it one of the largest structured government internship programs in India.

Stipend & Internship Duration

One of the biggest highlights 👇

Stipend

• ₹20,000 per month for all selected interns

Internship Options

• 1 Month

• 2 Months

• 6 Months (Final-Year Focused)

The 6-month internship for undergraduate engineering students will commence from 19 January 2026, and has already received 500+ applications.

Who Can Apply?

Primary Focus:

• Civil Engineering students

Also Eligible:

• IT Engineering

• Electronics Engineering

• Electrical Engineering

Especially for advanced domains like:

• Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS)

• Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)

• Digital highway infrastructure

Post-graduate students will also be included in future phases of the program.

Learning Beyond Classroom (NEP 2020 Aligned)

Aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the NHAI internship goes far beyond observational learning.

Interns will:

• Work on live highway planning & execution

• Gain technical + managerial exposure

• Understand how national highways are engineered on ground

• Build skills that directly boost employability

This is experimental learning at national scale.

Strong Early Response

• Winter Internship saw participation of 250 students

• 6-month internship (Jan 2026) already crossed 500 applications

• Indicates high demand + strong career value

Why This Internship Matters

This initiative reflects NHAI’s commitment to:

• Skill development

• Nation-building through youth participation

• Creating a future-ready infrastructure workforce

For students interested in government, PSU, infrastructure, or core engineering careers, this internship can be a career-defining experience.

Internship Portal Link: https://internship.aicte-india.org/internshipbygoogle.php