Dr. Madan Mohan Tripathi, Director General of the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT), stands at the centre of India’s efforts to align digital education with the country’s fast-evolving technology and skilling priorities.
An autonomous institution under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, NIELIT has played a pivotal role over the years in building national capacity in electronics, IT, and emerging technologies through a blend of academic rigor, industry partnership, and last-mile outreach.
In this conversation with Anoop Verma, Dr. Tripathi reflects on the vision and architecture of the NIELIT Digital University platform, the shift from classroom-bound learning to scalable, industry-led digital skilling, and the institution’s ambition to move learners from projects to products. He outlines how affordability, inclusivity, hands-on pedagogy, and employment relevance are being woven together to create a national platform capable of preparing India’s future-ready technology workforce at scale.
Edited excerpts:
To begin, could you outline the genesis of NDU—how the idea evolved, its core objectives, and its alignment with India’s digital education agenda?
The idea of the NIELIT Digital University (NDU) platform was conceived around three years ago by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The core motivation was to bridge the digital and skill divide in the country by ensuring that high-quality, industry-relevant technical education in IT and electronics reaches even the remotest parts of India.
NIELIT already has the largest physical delivery network in this domain, with 56 centres and more than 800 accredited centres across the country. However, with regulatory provisions allowing up to 40% of programmes to be delivered online, it became clear that a dedicated digital platform was required—one that could scale rapidly, ensure uniform quality, and provide a level playing field for learners regardless of geography.
NDU platform was thus conceptualised as a national platform offering emerging-technology programmes designed by industry, aligned with national skill frameworks, and accessible to learners across India. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology on 2nd October 2025. The larger objective is to create a deep and diverse pool of skilled manpower for the electronics and IT industry, aligned with India’s digital education and skilling priorities.
How does the NDU platform reflect NIELIT’s broader mission as a Deemed-to-be University in the E&ICT domain? Could you unpack what “inclusive,” “affordable,” and “employment-oriented” mean in practice?
NIELIT, as a Deemed-to-be University under MeitY, focuses on BTech, MTech, PhD, and diploma programmes with strong industry integration. The institutional vision is to move students beyond academic credentials and enable them to build real products for the nation—what we describe as the transition from “project to product.”
The NDU platform complements this mission by offering supplementary and specialised courses that students need when developing products—areas such as design thinking, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, patent filing, and emerging technology specialisations. These courses are delivered by experts drawn not only from academia, but also from industry and specialised institutions. This reduces dependency on full-time faculty for every niche area while ensuring that learners receive the best possible instruction.
Affordability is ensured by adhering to fee ceilings prescribed by NCVET. Despite offering high-quality programmes, fees have been kept among the lowest in the ecosystem. No fees are charged from SC/ST learners, and many programmes are fully sponsored by the government.
Inclusivity is addressed through multilingual support, mobile-first access, and the extensive NIELIT physical network. Learners can access programmes using a basic smartphone and internet connection, or attend courses at nearby NIELIT centres. Special efforts are also being made to design programmes for learners with disabilities. This ensures participation from women, learners in smaller towns, and those who cannot relocate to metropolitan cities.
Employment orientation is embedded through NSQF alignment and deep industry participation. Over 160 industry partners have contributed to curriculum design, ensuring that programmes directly reflect current and future job requirements.
What are the flagship course areas being offered on the NDU platform, and how were these domains selected?
The NDU platform currently offers over 100 programmes across 14 broad domains. These include Industry 4.0, semiconductor design and manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, data science, embedded systems, electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and other niche technology areas.
The selection of domains is driven by employment potential and industry demand. All programmes are designed based on continuous feedback from industry partners to ensure high employability outcomes. In addition, the platform also offers courses in personality development and professional skills, recognising the need for holistic workforce readiness.
The platform highlights features such as virtual labs, multilingual learning, verifiable digital certificates, credit transfer through the Academic Bank of Credit, and NSQF alignment. How are these being implemented, and what differentiates the NDU platform from other online platforms?
The most important differentiator of the NDU platform is its hands-on orientation. Unlike many platforms that focus primarily on theoretical instruction, every NDU programme integrates virtual laboratories that simulate real-world environments.
Virtual labs are available across domains such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, and semiconductor design. Wherever possible, open-source tools are used to reduce dependence on expensive licensed software. For example, chip-design programmes are delivered entirely using open-source platforms.
All certifications are digital and verifiable. Once issued, certificates are automatically deposited into the learner’s DigiLocker and mapped to their Academic Bank of Credit account, allowing seamless credit transfer to universities. Multilingual delivery and alignment with NSQF and NCVET ensure both accessibility and national recognition, making NDU’s pedagogy substantially different from conventional online learning models.
Student engagement and completion rates are persistent challenges in digital education. How does the NDU platform address these issues?
The NDU platform programmes are modular and structured. Learners must complete one module before progressing to the next, ensuring step-by-step skill acquisition. Each module includes assignments, quizzes, and assessments to maintain engagement.
The platform is highly AI-enabled. It includes interview simulators, AI-based quiz generators, personalised learning pathways, job-role-based course recommendations, and multilingual AI assistants available in 18 languages. These tools make learning interactive, personalised, and goal-oriented. Together, these mechanisms significantly improve learner engagement, completion rates, and job readiness.
What role do industry partnerships play in curriculum design, delivery, and certification? How do these partnerships translate into measurable outcomes?
Industry partnerships are central to the NDU platform. Industry partners contribute to curriculum design, train NIELIT trainers, and in many cases directly deliver courses. Some experts teach through online studios, reaching large cohorts simultaneously, while hands-on components are completed via virtual labs or NIELIT centres. These partnerships also enable continuous curriculum updates and job alignment. Industries post job requirements directly on the platform, enabling AI-based matching between learners and employers. This creates a strong feedback loop that benefits both learners and industry.
In a crowded online education space, how does the NDU platform ensure quality and credibility?
The NDU platform follows a rigorous and dynamic curriculum review process. Academic advisory committees, curriculum committees, and domain-specific subcommittees—comprising experts from academia and industry—continuously review and update content. There are no fixed revision cycles. Whenever a technological shift occurs, curricula are updated accordingly. Regular feedback from students, employers, and industry partners is systematically incorporated, ensuring continuous improvement and relevance.
How are certifications recognised, and how does credit transfer through the Academic Bank of Credit work?
All programmes are NSQF-aligned, and students are required to have an Academic Bank of Credit ID. Once a certificate is issued, it is automatically credited to the learner’s ABC account, enabling transfer to participating universities. NIELIT is also engaging with universities and state governments to formally recognise NDU programmes as credit-bearing components of degree programmes. On the industry side, employers increasingly recognise these certifications due to their alignment with real job roles and skills.
The target of 40 lakh learners by 2030 is ambitious. What is the roadmap to achieve this?
NIELIT already trains nearly 10 lakh learners annually across its ecosystem. The 40-lakh target over five years is therefore realistic. However, the emphasis is not on numbers alone, but on depth of skills. The focus has shifted from training users of technology to creators and builders of technology—particularly in areas like semiconductors, AI, and advanced electronics. This naturally requires more rigorous and structured learning pathways.
How will the NDU platform remain financially sustainable while remaining affordable?
Financial sustainability is achieved through scale. While fees are kept minimal and the institution operates on a cost-to-cost basis, large enrolment volumes ensure viability. Additionally, government-funded capacity-building projects and industry-supported programmes provide supplementary financial support. As a not-for-profit institution, the objective is sustainability with accessibility, not revenue maximisation.
Finally, what message would you like to give to prospective learners, especially those from smaller towns and remote regions?
My message echoes the words of the Prime Minister: use technology wisely. A mobile phone should not only be a source of entertainment, but a tool for learning and self-development. The NDU platform provides an opportunity to acquire industry-grade skills from anywhere in the country. This is the right time to invest in yourself, build future-ready capabilities, and participate in India’s digital transformation.
