Ashwini Vaishnaw Launches NIELIT Digital University, Inaugurates Five New Centres Across India

New Delhi, October 3: Union Minister for Railways, Electronics & IT, and Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday launched the NIELIT Digital University (NDU), a new platform aimed at democratizing access to high-quality digital education across India. The initiative, designed to align skilling with industry requirements, will focus on emerging technologies such as AI, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and data science.

Speaking at the launch, Vaishnaw urged NIELIT to engage with the top 500 companies and sign MoUs under the motto “You Decide What to Teach”, ensuring that courses remain closely linked to industry needs. “The electronics manufacturing sector alone has grown into a ₹13 lakh crore industry. NIELIT must prepare students to meet these demands,” he said.

On the occasion, the minister also virtually inaugurated five new NIELIT Centres at Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Balasore (Odisha), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Lunglei (Mizoram), and Daman (UT of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu).

MoUs were signed between NIELIT and Microsoft, Zscaler, Dixon Tech, Future Crime, and the Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN) to strengthen industry-academia collaboration.

The NDU platform (ndu.digital) has been developed with NCVET-approved, NSQF-aligned programmes, virtual labs, multilingual learning, verifiable digital certificates, and AI-driven career tools. It aims to train 40 lakh learners by 2030 under the vision of Digital India, NEP 2020, and Skill India.

Over 1,500 participants, including MPs, MLAs, students, academicians, and industry leaders, joined the event, which also featured a panel discussion on “Role of AI in Digitalization of Education.”

With the launch of NDU and expansion of new centres, NIELIT now has 56 campuses nationwide and is set to play a pivotal role in shaping India’s digital workforce.