New Delhi: Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, will inaugurate five new Centres of the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) tomorrow, including one at Balasore, Odisha. The other centres will be launched virtually at Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Daman (Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu), and Lunglei (Mizoram).

Alongside the new centres, the government will also launch the NIELIT Digital University (NDU) platform, which will offer specialised programmes in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data science, semiconductors, and allied technologies.

According to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), the platform is designed to democratise access to high-quality digital education with flexible learning modes and virtual labs to prepare youth with future-ready skills.

Over 1,500 participants, including NIELIT students from across India, academicians, and technology experts, are expected to attend the launch. The event will also feature stalls showcasing NIELIT’s skilling initiatives and signing of MoUs with leading industry partners to strengthen industry-academia collaboration.

NIELIT, an autonomous scientific society under MeitY, has played a key role in digital skilling and empowerment. It currently operates 56 centres, 750+ accredited institutes, and over 9,000 facilitation centres across the country. So far, it has trained more than 43.6 lakh candidates in emerging technologies, government data shows.

The Centre also revealed over ₹493 crore has been allocated to NIELIT since 2020-21, with the highest allocation of ₹153.08 crore in 2024-25.