Top Winter Internships in India 2025-2026

Winter breaks offer students a brief but useful opportunity to gain real-world exposure beyond classrooms. Winter internships are designed to fit into this short period, allowing students to explore industries, apply their skills, and understand professional work environments.

In this blog, you’ll find a curated list of top winter internships in India for 2025-2026 across business, technology, and policy domains. Each opportunity offers hands-on experience and structured learning that aligns with how these industries function in practice. 

Tech & Research Internships at Google India 

Internship Mode: On-site or Remote (as specified per role)

Internship Duration: Varies by role (typically 8-12 weeks)

Who Can Apply: Undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students (eligibility varies by role)

Application Status: Rolling (role-specific openings)

Google India offers some of the top winter internship roles in India, across software engineering, data science, UX, product, and business functions. Each internship posting clearly mentions the role requirements, location (India-based offices or remote, where applicable), and duration. These internships focus on real project work within Google teams, allowing students to experience large-scale product development, collaborative engineering processes, and industry-grade problem solving. 

Also Read: How to Search for Internships on LinkedIn? 

Academic & Institutional Internships at IIT Madras 

Internship Mode: On-site (IIT Madras campus)

Internship Duration: Short-term / winter projects (duration defined by department or faculty)

Who Can Apply: Undergraduate and postgraduate students from recognised institutions

Application Status: Open via institute portal (project and faculty dependent)

IIT Madras offers some of the top structured internship and visiting student opportunities where students can work on research or applied projects under faculty supervision. These internships are commonly taken up during academic breaks, including winter, and are especially relevant for students interested in engineering, science, interdisciplinary research, or higher studies. The scope of work, duration, and eligibility are clearly defined at the project or department level. 

Also Read: Top Summer Internships in India 

Science & Space Research Internships at ISRO 

Internship Mode: On-site (ISRO centres across India)

Internship Duration: Short-term internships or academic projects (as defined by centre)

Who Can Apply: Undergraduate and postgraduate students in engineering, science, and technology disciplines

Application Status: Applications accepted by individual ISRO centres

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) offers top internships and student project opportunities aimed at familiarising students with space research, engineering systems, and applied scientific work. Interns are attached to specific ISRO centres and work under the guidance of scientists or engineers on defined projects. These opportunities are well-suited for students seeking exposure to large-scale research environments and national scientific programmes in 2025-2026.

Fully Remote (International) Internships at Linux Foundation

Internship Mode: Fully Remote

Internship Duration: 3-6 months (programme-specific)

Who Can Apply: Students and early-career developers worldwide

Application Status: Programme-based application cycles

The Linux Foundation’s LFX Mentorship programme connects interns with open-source projects under structured mentorship. Participants contribute to real-world software projects used globally, gaining experience in collaborative development, version control, and community-driven engineering. Since the programme is fully remote, it is accessible to students in India without relocation, making it a top winter or cross-term option in 2025-2026 for those interested in open-source development.

Also Read: Niti Aayog Internship Scheme 

Corporate & Digital Governance Internships at NeGD

Internship Mode: On-site (New Delhi)

Internship Duration: Winter term (programme dates as specified in the official notice)

Who Can Apply: Students from recognised institutions, as per the eligibility criteria mentioned in the official announcement

Application Status: Applications open (deadline specified in the official winter internship notice as 24th December, 2025)

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), operating under the Digital India framework, offers a top-notch winter internship programme focused on exposure to large-scale digital governance initiatives. Interns work alongside teams involved in areas such as programme coordination, research support, documentation, communications, and policy-related tasks connected to national digital projects. The internship is designed to provide practical insight into how government-backed digital programmes are planned, executed, and monitored, making it suitable for students interested in public systems, technology-enabled governance, and institutional operations.

Also Read: Adult Literacy Program in India 

To conclude, winter internships are often less about scale and more about signal. A well-chosen experience can help you understand how organisations operate, what kind of work environments suit you, and where your interests actually hold up in practice. Instead of treating winter breaks as gaps between semesters, using them for focused exposure can quietly build confidence and direction, without needing long commitments or rigid outcomes.