The Northern Command internship programme is open, with the Army inviting students and young professionals to spend 75 paid days at Udhampur, Srinagar or Leh working on technology for defence use, officials said on Thursday.

The call is aimed at young innovators, aspiring technologists and creative minds. Applications close on November 5, and the internships begin on December 1.

Northern Command internship programme pays Rs 75,000 over 75 days

The 75 days are split into two parts. The first 15 days are online. The remaining 60 are physical, spent at one of three stations: Udhampur, which houses the headquarters of Northern Command, Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley, and Leh in Ladakh. All three are within the command's area, which spans Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Army Commander reviewed security in South Kashmir in August.

Stipend fixed at Rs 30,000 a month

Interns on the Northern Command internship programme will be paid Rs 30,000 a month, which comes to Rs 75,000 for the full term, according to the command's programme details.

Eleven domains run from quantum computing to Mandarin

The programme lists 11 domains. Most are technical: cyber security and ethical hacking, artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing and cryptography, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics and autonomous systems, space and satellite technologies, advanced weapon systems and defence electronics, and 5G, 6G and communication technologies.

Three are not. Financial technology and mass communication are on the list, and so is Mandarin interpretation and utilisation, the only language domain offered.

Interns are expected to work on ideas that can be turned into practical solutions for the Army, gaining hands-on experience along the way. The stated goal is defence innovation that adds to the operational readiness and capabilities of the force. Several of the listed fields, including drones, quantum and space technologies, are already being worked on inside the Army, as the Chief of the Army Staff saw this month at the 515 Army Base Workshop in Bengaluru.

Applications for the Northern Command internship programme are filed online

Candidates apply through the National Internship Portal run by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The process has three steps. Applicants register on the portal, create a profile and then apply for the Indian Army Internship Programme, whose openings are listed under the Army category on the portal.

The closing date is November 5.

Second edition of the Army's internship scheme

The Indian Army Internship Programme 2026-27 is the second edition of the scheme. The Army's national call for this edition went out in July, with a 60-day physical phase in Delhi and NCR and individual roles posted separately on the same portal, each with its own eligibility and closing date, according to the programme listings at the time. Northern Command's edition moves that physical phase to Udhampur, Srinagar and Leh.