Govt to Fund 100 Engineering Colleges with ₹1 Crore Each for Quantum Labs

The Government of India will provide ₹1 crore each to 100 engineering colleges to establish quantum teaching labs, marking a major push to build capacity in quantum technology education.

These labs are aimed at undergraduate minor programmes, not advanced research, and are part of a broader initiative to strengthen India’s quantum ecosystem.

The official announcement about funding 100 engineering colleges with ₹1 crore each for quantum teaching labs was made by Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), during an event at IIT Bombay on November 24, 2025.  The Indian Express was among the first outlets to report the announcement on November 25, 2025, citing Prof. Karandikar’s remarks at IIT Bombay.  News18 also carried the story the same day, highlighting the ₹720 crore quantum fabrication facilities planned at IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru.  

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Key Details

• Funding: ₹1 crore per college, covering lab setup, course design, and faculty development.
• Scope: Labs will focus on teaching quantum technology at the undergraduate level.
• Institutions: 100 engineering colleges selected from over 500 proposals.
• Lead Agencies: Department of Science and Technology (DST) and AICTE.
• Announcement: Made by DST Secretary Prof. Abhay Karandikar at IIT Bombay.
• Complementary Investments:
  • ₹720 crore quantum fabrication facilities at IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru.
  • Quantum algorithms technical group to support startups and advanced research.

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Strategic Importance

• Capacity Building: Creates a pipeline of skilled graduates in quantum computing, sensing, and communication.
• Global Positioning: Aligns India with global quantum initiatives, reducing dependence on foreign technology.
• Startup Ecosystem: Supports Indian startups innovating in quantum technologies.
• Education Impact: Embeds quantum technology into mainstream engineering curricula.

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Challenges Ahead

• Infrastructure readiness: Colleges must adapt existing facilities to host quantum labs.
• Faculty training: Ensuring teachers are equipped to deliver quantum courses effectively.
• Sustainability: Long-term funding and industry partnerships will be critical.

AICTE and IG Drones Partner to Establish 50 Drone CoEs in Engineering Institutes Across India

AICTE and IG Drones Join Hands to Establish 50 Drone Centres of Excellence in Technical Institutes across India

In a landmark move towards creating a technologically skilled and self-reliant India, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has entered into a strategic Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with IG Drones to set up 50 Drone Centres of Excellence (CoEs) across 50 engineering colleges in India. This initiative is aligned with the Government of India’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, aiming to bridge the skill gap in emerging technologies by empowering youth with cutting-edge training in drone technology.

The Drone Centres of Excellence will serve as dynamic hubs for innovation, hands-on training, and research, embedding advanced drone technology into technical education. Students will gain industry-relevant skills and certifications in drone operations, manufacturing, and applications. Under this initiative, 200 students from each university will be trained, equipping over 10,000 learners with specialized expertise in drone technology. These centres aim to foster entrepreneurship and indigenous innovation, creating a skilled workforce for high-impact sectors like agriculture, defence, disaster management, logistics, and urban planning. This initiative will play a vital role in driving economic growth and preparing youth for future-ready, impact-driven careers in a self-reliant, tech-enabled India.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE, said, "This collaboration with IG Drones is a step towards realizing Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ powered by skilled youth. By embedding drone technology into our technical education framework, we are not only preparing our students for tomorrow’s jobs but also strengthening India’s capabilities in home-grown, high-end technology sectors. These Centres of Excellence will serve as vibrant hubs of innovation—democratizing access to advanced technology, promoting inclusion, and fostering entrepreneurship and indigenous development. They will not only equip students with industry-ready skills but also encourage them to launch their own startups and build solutions in high-end tech drone sectors."

The partnership gains further significance against the backdrop of the Government’s 2025–26 Union Budget, which has reaffirmed skilling as a top national priority. The establishment of five National Centres for Excellence in Skilling, a Centre of Excellence in AI, and 50,000 Atal Tinkering Labs is part of a broader effort to equip youth with industry-relevant, specialized skills in a rapidly transforming economic landscape.

Adding a strong regional dimension to this national initiative, India’s first-ever Drone Centres of Excellence (CoEs) were established in Odisha in February, where Member of Parliament Sujeet Kumar, under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), partnered with IG Drones to set up Drone Training Centres in the Kalahandi district. These centres are a crucial part of IG Drones’ larger mission of preparing India’s youth for the Industrial 4.0 Revolution, with a goal to skill over 10 million students in advanced drone technologies through its Drone Centres of Excellence. Focused on tribal and rural upskilling, particularly among women and youth, the Kalahandi centres aim to create future-ready talent pools in underserved areas.

Two such centres have already been established in the gram panchayats of Sagada and Bhatangpadar, offering hands-on training to develop certified drone pilots and technicians. These programs not only provide pathways to meaningful employment but also spark STEM interest among schoolchildren, driving the long-term technological empowerment of the region.

Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, Founder of IG Drones, said, 

Our mission is deeply rooted in the principles of indigenous innovation. Through this partnership, we aim to build a drone ecosystem that is truly ‘Made in India’, powered by local talent, and equipped to serve global standards. We believe this is how we make technology inclusive, equitable, and meaningful, especially for rural and tribal communities.

IG Drones is at the forefront of research-led, locally manufactured drone technology, minimizing reliance on foreign imports and strengthening India's position as a leader in drone innovation. The company’s focus on indigenous design, development, and deployment aligns with the national goal of creating a resilient and self-sufficient technological landscape.

This collaboration between AICTE and IG Drones marks a significant step in transforming India's technical education system by connecting classrooms with cutting-edge industry practices. It exemplifies how public-private partnerships can accelerate progress towards a skilled, empowered, and globally competitive Bharat—ready to lead the world in new-age technologies.

Meta (Facebook) Partners with NIESBUD, CBSE and AICTE for 3 Yrs for Skilling Students, Entrepreneurs and Startups in Digital Marketing in 7 Regional Languages

Meta, the parent of social media giant Facebook, has today exchanged 3 Letters of Intent (LoI) with NIESBUD, AICTE and CBSE, to train students, Entrepreneurs, Startups and small-businesses in Digital Marketing. 

The LoIs were inked in a launch event of 3-year partnership between Meta and Ministry of Education, Ministry Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

The partnership dubbed as “Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a generation of students, educators and entrepreneurs”, was launched by Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Mr Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi today.

Launched by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister, the partnership with Meta is a game-changer which will take Digital Skilling to the grassroots and build capacities of India's talent pool, seamlessly connect students, youth, workforce & micro-entrepreneurs, with futuristic technologies and transform our Amrit Peedhi into new-age problem solvers and entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the event, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan said that the initiative launched today is in furtherance to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a skill capital of the world and empowering our Amrit Peedhi.

In furtherance to PM @narendramodi ji’s vision of making India a skill capital of the world and empowering our #AmritPeedhi, launched the ‘Education To Entrepreneurship’ partnership— a joint initiative of @EduMinOfIndia, @MSDESkillIndia and @Meta.

Guided by the tenets of NEP,… pic.twitter.com/BctG1Oca49

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 4, 2023

Meta’s partnerships with NIESBUD (National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development), CBSE & AICTE will catalyse infinite possibilities for equipping our population with critical digital skills and empowering micro entrepreneurs and small businesses, he added.

NIESBUD is a premier organization of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, engaged in training, consultancy, research and publication in order to promote entrepreneurship and Skill Development in India.

Under the partnership of Meta with NIESBUD, 5 lakh entrepreneurs will get access to digital marketing skills by Meta over the next 3 years. Budding and existing entrepreneurs will be trained in digital marketing skills using Meta platforms in 7 regional languages to begin with. Three short films were also showcased highlighting the details about the partnerships.

The entrepreneurs,through NIESBUD, will be trained with the use of Meta platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, in 7 regional languages.

Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said, "Government’s focus on preparing our youth and workforce in these rapidly transforming times, to be equipped with the skills to succeed and play important roles in the evolving landscape of technology and the global economy. Digital skills, while representing skilling and entrepreneurship in the innovation ecosystem, more importantly represents a bridge between lakhs of small rural, micro and self-employed entrepreneurs, enabling them to expand, grow and succeed."

In a video message Meta President, Global Affairs, Sir Nick Clegg, thanked Shri Dharmendra Pradhan for his support in bringing the partnership together between the two most important sectors of the workforce, education and skilling. India’s talent base and rapid digital adoption make it the perfect place for us to invest in emerging technologies, he added. He looked forward to Meta’s contribution in empowering India’s students, young people and entrepreneurs, with significant focus on skill development for Indian startups and businesses, having worked closely with India during its G20 Presidency in areas such as education, job creation, skill development and user safety.

byteXL Partners With Microsoft to Develop ‘Future-Ready’ Technology Talent Pool in Tier 2 & 3 Cities

• In line with Government’s aim to create 1 million digital workforce in emerging technologies. 
• Supported by AICTE, the initiative aims to tap the budding talent pool in Tier 2 & 3 cities and raise their Employability Quotient

byteXL, one of the leading experiential learning platforms for IT career aspirants, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft. The MoU is directed to transform educational institutes in Tier 2 and 3 cities across the nation and cater to the 360-degree developmental needs of its students. The pan-India initiative – ‘XLerate’, supported by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), aims to impart training in new age and emerging technologies. This collaboration is aligned with the national vision of providing one crore internship opportunities by 2025.

In a short time of two years, byteXL has demonstrated strong capabilities of creating a significant impact on raising the employability of 1 lac engineering students across 90 institutes in 7 states. This established success of byteXL has been achieved by imparting the training through its seamless hybrid learning model and in-house developed analytics tool that assists in keeping a close track of every aspect of the student’s progress whilst undergoing the program. While byteXL will spearhead the training program and conduct the comprehensive programs, Microsoft will support the endeavor with necessary infrastructure, including sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Labs that provide contemporary programs for specialized education. Students can also earn Microsoft certifications, once they complete the required learning and industry-ready skills. Students from this program will have access to Microsoft Azure and AI certifications, along with industry approved training modules. byteXL’s role in this collaboration will amplify Microsoft’s global skills initiative, which has already provided digital skills to more than 42 million people worldwide.

The strong need – raising technology employability in Tier 2 & 3 cities

Students in Tier 2 and 3 cities have faced challenges ranging from lack of access to quality educational material to exposure to global trends, and lack of industry exposure to scarcity of financial means to complete high-quality education. As a result, many bright students are forced to compromise on their higher education or move to Tier 1 cities for better educational opportunities. This initiative – ‘XLerate’ will be focused on addressing these concerns and ensuring that new-age, quality education and required industry exposure are made available at highly affordable costs. These would play a critical role in not only enhancing the ‘Employability Quotient’ of students but also help in the transformation of the institutes and empower them to produce quality industry-ready talent in the longer run.

Speaking at the MOU signing ceremony, Mr. Karun Tadepalli, CEO & Co-Founder, byteXL, said “This MOU with Microsoft is a critical step in enabling a developmental ecosystem for youth in India’s Tier 2 and 3 cities. The collaboration aims to transform technical education and reimagine the skills ecosystem through a robust and career intensive curriculum. Our in-house futuristic instruction methodology, coupled with Microsoft’s learning infrastructure will surely produce brilliance in employable students. Our collaborative efforts are directed towards the redefining of the traditional engineering colleges and in creating a globally in-demand growth spectrum for the new graduates.”

Ms. Indrani Choudhury, Chief Learning Officer, Microsoft India said, “Digital technologies will be key in addressing the skills challenge that we are facing today. Democratizing access to skilling with a focus on employability, especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities of India, can empower large talent pools for the digital economy. At Microsoft, we believe we can combine the best in technology with strong collaborations like byteXL to better serve young people and create more opportunities for them.”

byteXL’s Trends Report - Deep Tech Insights 21-22 based on a large sample size of 55,000 students from 60 Tier 1, 2, and 3 institutes also revealed the changing trends and aspirations of the engineering students. The student enrollment rates for specialized technology courses were witnessed at over 90% and 67% in Tier 3 and Tier 2 respectively as compared to 63% in Tier 1. This is a clear indication of the increasing inclination of Tier 2 & 3 students to move up into the value chain. The trend for upskilling is also gaining momentum in Tier 2 students at 68.81% male students and 43.96% female students. Tier 3 students show a similar inclination to Tier 2 with 57.13% male students and 54.63% female students.

According to various industry reports, in the past 10 years (2012-2022) the Employability rate of graduating engineers is less than 8% and 93% of the graduating engineers in India lack the required IT skills to work in IT companies.

About byteXL:

Headquartered at Hyderabad (India), byteXL prepares IT Career Ready Engineers in Conventional Coding and New age Technologies like Cloud, AI/ML, DevOps, FullStack Development, and Cyber Security through a Hybrid Learning Platform and guided Campus Recruitment model. It is a one-stop shop for self-learning coursework and guided training – preparing a new generation of coders for the workforce.

World’s Largest Hybrid Learning Workshop for Heads of 10K AICTE Approved Institutes and Colleges, conducted by Tech Avant-Garde (TAG)

Prof. Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe, Chairman,AICTE as Chief Guest inaugurated the Hybrid Learning Curtain Raiser mega event held on 21 July 2022 at the Welcom Hotel by ITC Hotels. He was accompanied by the Guests of Honour Dr. Buddha Chandrashekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer and Prof. B. Thimme Gowda, Vice Chairman, Karnataka State Higher Education Council.

AICTE has advised all its approved colleges to adopt Hybrid Learning to make them robust and lockdown proof. Tech Avant-Garde (TAG)has been chosen to assist these colleges to transform into Hybrid Learning Spaces. Ali Sait, CEO, TAG, was also present.

As the first step towards Digital Transformation,TAG is conducting free certification program to train heads of Institutions in Hybrid Learning.Tech Avant-Garde, the Global Partner of Microsoft, in association with Microsoft Education is conducting this training program for Education Leaders on new paradigms of learning – Hybrid Learning.

Speaking at the event, Ali Sait, CEO of Tech Avant-Garde, said, “In Hybrid Learning, education will be reimagined, teachers will find their potential, learning will be from anywhere, any place on any device and there will be only one degree of separation between Learning and Education”.

Hybrid Learning Training Program

This program will commence from 29 July 2022. Training will be conducted in three batches. The sessions will be conducted online over a period two days.The duration of training for each day will be for one hour and thirty minutes. The participants can select the batches during registration.

The training dates are as follows:

• Batch 1: Friday 29th July 2022 - Saturday 20th July 2022
• Batch 2: Friday 05 Aug 2022 - Saturday 06th Aug 2022
• Batch 3: Friday 12th Aug 2022 - Saturday 13th Aug 2022

The registration link for training program is -https://tagevent.in/aicte

This training program will cover the following topics:

• Develop your vision and build a roadmap to get there
• Prepare your Stakeholders
• Develop model Colleges
• Stay connected 
• Real time case studies

The Education Leaders who attend this program will get certified and the colleges will become eligible for two sessions of advisory on Hybrid Learning, to be availed within 2 months of the program.

The program will be conducted on Knowledege L’avenir platform.

About Tech Avant-Garde:

Tech Avant-Garde (TAG) is India’s largest Solution Provider in the education segment, supporting all genre of institutes, ranging from K-12 schools to universities. TAG is a part of the Accelerator program of Microsoft and has been certified as a Global Trainer for Microsoft in Education. TAG won the award for the Best Worldwide Training Partner of Microsoft Asia region. TAG, as a co-sell partner and ISV of Microsoft, has implemented the Digital Transformation and Holistic Learning program to help educational institutions to navigate from physical classrooms to digital classrooms. Some of the products and solutions of Tech Avant-Garde include Lycee-Cyber Academe, an ERP Campus Management solution, Efeeonline, an Online Multimode Fee payment solution for educational institutions which is connected to the Bharat Bill System developed by NPCI. TAG also works in knowledge enhancement of educators through Knowledge L’avenir, the largest social learning platform for teacher and Knowledge Key Foundation, to bring state-of-the-art technology and tools to aid institutions and teachers to enhance their digital teaching and learning skills.

To Help Students Get Internship Opportunities, AICTE Ties with Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

Image credits - Khadi India@Twitter

AICTE Joins Hands with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to help students get internship opportunities and build entrepreneurial skills towards Atmanirbhar Bharat

• Students of BTech and MTech can avail internship.
• KVIC will pay students Rs.5000/= month during the internship period.
• KVIC is also going to roll out a scholarship programme for researchers.

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) announced its association with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) with an aim to provide students (UG and PG) with internship opportunities and build entrepreneurial skills.

The programme was started with welcome address of dignitaries by Dr Amit Kumar Srivastava, Director, Student Development Cell, AICTE New Delhi. Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, and Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC, announced the partnership during a webinar that was organised today by AICTE. The webinar was organised with an aim to understand the role of KVIC in making India and its villages self-reliant and how faculty members of the AICTE and the students can become entrepreneurs at a local level and provide employment to thousands of skilled and unskilled labour in the vicinity.

For internship opportunities, students can get in touch with KVIC state/ divisional offices and on selection will get to work across different departments of their interest. Additionally, the internship opportunities with KVIC will also be uploaded on AICTE internship portal. Under the programme, the students will also be paid a stipend of Rs. 5,000/ month during the internship period. KVIC is also planning to roll out a scholarship programme for students to undertake research projects on its multiple schemes.

Shri. Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC, addressing the webinar

Commenting during the webinar, Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, said: “I am delighted to announce our partnership with KVIC would benefit our students. KVIC draws inspiration from Gandhi Ji. We talk about Atmanirbhar Bharat and it shall become Atmanirbhar in true sense when all the villages, talukas, districts, and states become self-reliant. That’s why Gandhi Ji always talked about Gram Swaraj. Today India is a giant in the ITES industry. Now time has come to ensure how we can help villages through ITES and make them more self-reliant and promote entrepreneurship.”

An elated Shri. Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC, said that the internship programme will help students gain valuable experience through challenging projects. “KVIC has a lot of platforms through which students can connect. I will urge all the faculty members and the students to work towards the upliftment of the country through the multiple schemes that KVIC runs across the country. KVIC has always taken on challenging initiatives. I will urge students not to think too much about being job takers but believe in becoming job givers through their entrepreneurial skills,” said Mr. Saxena. Detailing the process, Mr. Saxena said that interested students can reach out to KVIC State/ Divisional offices in different cities for internship opportunities.

"KVIC is offering a project for internship for all the students. The students can gain access to different departments of KVIC be it marketing or manufacturing as per their interest. The students will be paid a stipend of Rs.5000/month during the internship period. We are also planning to roll out a scholarship programme for research scholars who would work on different projects and schemes of KVIC," Mr. Saxena added.

At the end of programme, vote of thanks was delivered by Ms. Sanju Chaudhary, Assistant Director, Student Development Cell, AICTE New Delhi.

The World’s Biggest Happiness Blockchain YourOneLife (YOL) To Be Created By 5ire and AICTE

The happiness blockchain, named YourOneLife (YOL), aims to create a sustainable model of happiness in the world

Founded by Yogesh Kochhar and Anoop Bansal in association with 5ire, a 5th generation blockchain network established by Pratik Gauri, Prateek Dwivedi and Vilma Mattila

5ire, the 5th generation blockchain network, announced today that it has collaborated with AICTE, India's technical and higher education regulator, to create the world's biggest happiness blockchain named, Happiness Blockchain by building the YourOneLife (YOL) app on 5irechain.

By incorporating sustainability into India's technical and higher education regulation through YourOneLife (YOL), AICTE has engaged a central tenet of the for-benefits economy and its mission to accelerate the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The model for YOL essentially has three key features: 

• Assessing the Happiness Index of an individual and an institution
• Assessing the mindshare of an individual or an institution
• Setting the mind map of an individual or an institution.

A brainchild of Yogesh Kochhar and Anoop Bansal, associated with the AICTE, YOL was initially created as an app. Through the association with 5ire, the potential of the happiness model was expanded into a blockchain, for designing and developing a sustainable model of happiness in the world. YOL is expected to:

• Be available on 5ire’s level 1 blockchain, 5ireChain, and will be utilized for all academic activities by students under the auspices of AICTE
• Record, issue, and verify the academic credentials for the aforementioned 8 million+ students via 5ireChain, making it the largest blockchain-based academic accreditation system globally.
• Allow 5ire to train a large number of students under AICTE guidance by providing a well-designed curriculum and courses in 5th generation blockchain technology.

"The launch of YOL is an exciting milestone in our lives and actually makes both of us quite happy," Kochhar and Bansal said gleefully at the occasion of the announcement, "meaning our preceding concussion about the app was correct!"

Speaking on the occasion and welcoming the relationship between YOL and 5ire, the Chairman of AICTE, Prof Anil D. Sahasrabudhe said -

This not only provides an elevated learning opportunity for over 7 million students in India that AICTE governs, it gives each of these students an opportunity to mine and earn happiness NFTs on the YOL platform powered by 5ire. Blockchain is the need of the hour and I was happy to have it as an inclusion for all students.

The project has already received wide acclaim from Prof Phoebe Koundouri, Co-Chair, Europe, and Greece, UN SDSN, who spoke on occasion and complemented this unique platform.

"Our mission at 5ire ecosystem is to support projects that address the multiple facets of sustainability and embed the for-benefit paradigm at the heart of blockchain. YOL is definitely in that group and we are thrilled to have partnered with AICTE.", Pratik Gauri, the CEO, and co-founder of 5IRE, said at the announcement, "Both Yogesh and Anoop are insightful technologists that have studied the deep connection between happiness and sustainability, and we wholeheartedly agree with their findings, and are excited about YOL and the impact it will generate. "

"5ireChain is committed to focusing on human-centered design and sustainable development, and partnering with AICTE enabled us to exhibit our commitment to that goal.", said Prateek Dwivedi, Co-founder and CMO at 5ire.

"This is a big win both for Indian high-tech education and AICTE. Sustainability and blockchain are both critical for the future and we’re getting it as a package" added Mr. Raj Kapoor, the founder of India Blockchain Alliance, who was at hand as the Strategy Lead - India, 5ire.

AICTE is the technical and higher education regulator in India that governs over 10,000 higher education and technical colleges and universities in India impacting over 7 million students.

5ire is focused on implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. So much so that 5ire has produced 5ireChain, an innovative blockchain technology with the UN SDGs written into its core. Non-financial factors such as environmental, social, and governance scores are weighted in the 5ireChain ranking protocol, impacting a party's participation in the 5ire network.

About 5ire

5ire is a blockchain ecosystem that brings forward Sustainability, Technology & Innovation to build the 5th industrial revolution (5IR). Founded by Pratik Gauri, Prateek Dwivedi and Vilma Mattila, proponents of blockchain technology in August 2021, the mission of the 5ire ecosystem is to embed the for-benefit paradigm at the heart of blockchain, highly incentivize practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), facilitate the transition from the 4IR to 5IR and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The company’s primary offering is 5ireChain, a first layer, sustainability-driven 5th generation blockchain that ensures adherence to the philosophy of 5IR creating a net positive impact on the planet and service humanity.

AICTE Launched Two Programs NITTT and PARAKH for Teachers and Students

AICTE Launched Two Programs: Higher Modules for National Initiative for Technical Teachers Training(Nittt) and Students Learning Assessment (Parakh) Program

Around 47,015 teachers have benefitted from the program so far from NITTT

Teachers now must undergo 6 modules out of the 12 higher modules for NITTT

Portal for PARAKH offers more than 1,45,000 multiple choice questions

With an aim to create a large pool of trained technical teachers, the All India Council for Technological Education (AICTE) announced that it was expanding the ambit of National Initiative for Technical Teachers Training (NITTT) by making it accessible to teachers with more than five years of service.

The AICTE also announced the launch of portal https://aslap.aicte-india.org/ of Students Learning Assessment (PARAKH) program based on joint recommendations made by National Project Implementation Unit (NPIU) and STANFORD University’s study. The portal will conduct assessments of students and faculty members of HEIs and schools.

The portal has more than 1,45,000 assessment items incorporating multiple disciplines towards improving the overall competence of students and graduates to include core disciplines, aptitude, emerging areas, and higher order thinking skills. As a part of the pilot programme, more than 80,000 students registered with 55,000 completing the assessment. In addition, 1,200 faculty members have also taken the assessment.

As a part of the new revamped NITTT, teachers will now have to serve industrial training and a semester-based mentorship as a part of the training exercise. Earlier, the NITTT was accessible to teachers having less than five years of service and was launched for promoting quality of technical education in the country.

Both the programs were launched by Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, MOE, Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, AICTE Chairman, Prof. M.P. Poonia, AICTE Vice-Chairman, and Prof. Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, AICTE.

On the occasion Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Higher Education, MOE, said: "I must laud and appreciate the AICTE for launching two wonderful initiatives for teachers and students. It shows that a lot of thinking has gone into these programs and I think the students and the faculties will appreciate the benefits of undergoing these courses. We are in a virtual mode due to the pandemic and we have to ensure that students don’t feel missing live classrooms."

Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, AICTE Chairman said: "We are extremely delighted to launch two new initiatives that would benefit both the students and the teachers at large. We are the midst of the launching the NEP that lays lot of stress on training the teachers and lot of processes that are involved in the education sector. Teaching is a lifelong learning and NITTT will help teachers of today to become tomorrow’s faculty heads. Students should also come forward to take the tests through PARAKH for overall development and growth."

Prof. M.P. Poonia, AICTE Vice-Chairman said: "PARAKH and NITTT are two important initiatives that we have taken up to drive vigorously. PARAKH helps students to identify a continuous assessment will help them to come out better when they pass out from their institutes and serve the country better. We are also doing this to help students enhance critical thinking and fill gaps in high order skills. On NITTT, the program has been designed as per the teacher’s training policy. It is the first structured teacher’s training programme across the globe."

Prof Rajive Kumar, Member Secretary, AICTE, said: "We are extremely delighted to share that many faculty members have registered for NITTT and made of them have cleared all these eight modules. As a part of the second initiative PARAKH, Stanford University was given a project to find the learning gaps that our students face and they have executed it on a pilot basis with 50 institutes. On the basis of the recommendations submitted by Stanford University, AICTE has now created a portal for our PARAKH programme that would benefit the students."

Registration Open for Vidyanjali Higher Education Volunteer Programme Aimed at Creating a Pool of Volunteers to Build Academic,Training and Infrastructure Support for Institutions in Higher Educations

The volunteer program aims to benefit India’s 40 million students in higher education

Volunteers can register for the program at vidyanjali-he.education.gov.in

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has started registration in the Vidyanjali Higher Education Volunteer Programme, aimed at creating a robust team of volunteers who can positively impact the nation’s higher education system by contributing with academic, training, and infrastructure support.

To participate in this program both volunteers and institutions can sign up at www.vidyanjali-he.education.gov.in. Individuals need to register on the platform for the specialized areas that they need to volunteer for in the program. Volunteers can then interact with Higher Education institutes directly and contribute to the institution’s academic service and activity with relevant knowledge and skillset. Volunteers can also sign up to help institutions by donating assets and equipment.

Vidyanjali Higher Education Volunteer Programme is aimed at strengthening support to students, faculties, and institutions of higher educations by volunteerism through the involvement of the community, private and public sector, NGOs, NRIs, and PIOs.

Announcing the registration for the Vidyanjali Higher Education Volunteer Programme, AICTE’s vice-chairman, Prof. M.P. Poonia said: "This is an important initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE) that would benefit the country's higher education program. Almost 40 million students are in higher education and our foremost task is to benefit them from both government and society. India has a huge youth population and we want to convert this into a strong human resource for the country. This is in line with our dream to make an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. We need to integrate every available resource in the country and pool them together to make this program a success."

This initiative would connect institutions of higher education with varied volunteers from the Indian diaspora namely young professionals, retired/working teachers, retired/ working government officials, professionals, and students of PG and Ph.D. levels.

Through the portal, volunteers can make their skills and specialized services they want to offer known to the institutions. The institutions can also make their requirement known through the portal to seek volunteers.

There are almost 27 academic activities and sponsorship services that volunteers can chip in with for their services. In terms of infrastructure support, volunteers can also support institutions with basic civil and electrical infrastructure, classroom equipment for teaching, and digital infrastructure.

DRDO and AICTE Launch Regular M. Tech Program in Defence Technologies

A regular M.Tech. Program in Defence Technology has been launched by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to impart necessary theoretical & experimental knowledge, skill and aptitude in various defence technology areas. Secretary Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDODr G Satheesh Reddy and Chairman AICTE Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe launched the program during a virtual event organised by AICTE, New Delhi on July 08, 2021. 

The program will motivate the aspiring engineers to start their career in defence technology.

This M.Tech. defence technology program can be conducted at any AICTE affiliated Institutes/Universities, IITs, NITs or private engineering institutes.Institute of Defence Scientists & Technologists (IDST) will provide support to the institutes for conducting this program, which can be conducted in online as well as offline formats. 

The new M.Tech. program has 6 specialized streams - 

1. Combat Technology, 
2. Aero Technology, 
3. Naval Technology, 
4. Communication Systems & Sensors, 
5. Directed Energy Technology
6. High Energy Materials Technology. 

The students will also be provided opportunities to conduct their main thesis work in DRDO laboratories, Defence PSUs & Industries. The program will be helpful to students seeking opportunities in ever expanding defence research and manufacturing sector.

Defence minister Mr. Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, AICTE & Industries for starting a Post Graduate Program in Defence Technology. He said the program will help in achieving ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

In his address, Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated DRDO, AICTE and industries for evolving the PG program. He expressed hope that such a specialized program will enable the creation of a large pool of talented workforce for defence sector. He called upon the industry leaders to extend their support for this program and offer opportunities to the students.

Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe expressed happiness over the launch of the program and said it will not only generate skilled manpower pool in defence technology, but will also create spin-off benefits in terms of new defence startups and entrepreneurs. He emphasized that research should be connected with day-to-day life as it is fundamental for human psyche.

Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Forge Limited Shri Babasaheb Neelkanth Kalyani congratulated DRDO and AICTE for initiating this program and highlighted its importance for creation of talent pool for defence technology with know-how and know-why capability to fulfil the vision of ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.

AICTE with Whitehat Jr. Offering 2500 Virtual Internship with Monthly Stipend of Upto Rs.12000

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a statutory body and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education,  through its TULIP portal has invited applications for 2500 virtual internship opportunities available with Whitehat Jr. Interns who will be paid a monthly stipend of up to Rs. 12,000 based on their performance. AICTE Internships help Indian students find internships and organizations find best interns, on PAN India basis.

Interested applicants have to apply at TULIP portal, before 10 May 2021. Applications are open to candidates with the following qualifications: 

• Second or third-year Graduation or Diploma students
• Excellent communication skills in English and Hindi
• Candidates are required to have laptop and internet facility
• Other relevant skills and interests 

The Urban Learning Internship Programme (TULIP), was launched in June last year, to provide internship opportunities to thousands of fresh graduates and engineers of the county under the ‘Smart City’ projects. The TULIP portal has been developed by AICTE. Under the internship programme students will get to work for 100 smart cities under ministry of housing and urban development. According to the TULIP portal, there are a total of 295,200 internships under 23,970 companies.

.@AICTE_INDIA through its TULIP portal has invited applications for 2500 virtual internship opportunities available with Whitehat Jr. Interns who will be paid a monthly stipend of up to Rs. 12,000 based on their performance.Visit -> https://t.co/1EfYVO4rFD pic.twitter.com/suYG6FhM82

— Digital India (@_DigitalIndia) May 6, 2021

NEAT- AICTE Partners with EdTech Startup Skill-Lync to Provide Technical Training

In an attempt to ensure that there is no hiatus in student education during the ongoing lockdown, Govt of India's All India Council of Technical Education - NEAT announced partnership with Chennai based Edtech startup Skill-Lync. The global startup Skill-Lync is first-of-its-kind engineering technical education platform that provides job leading courses for Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineering students in India and across the world.

During COVID19 outbreak, under this partnership, Skill-Lync has opened up its Rs. 50,000. worth Mechanical Engineers Essentials program to students from AICTE. Interestingly, they've had over 15000 subscribers to their free online coursework in the last two weeks itself and the number is growing by the day.

Given the extended at-home learning requirements that the industry is catering to, this partnership is aimed at accelerating the online learning process for mechanical, electrical & civil engineering students. Until now most computer science students had access to coding platforms that taught them industry relevant skills. But a lot of non-software core engineering domains missed out on this. This also accelerates the adoption of online learning for non-software engineering domains.

There is a great amount of push from the government to safeguard student education including professional & technical skills. Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the immediate launch of 'Pradhan Mantri e-VIDYA' initiative for digital education which is likely to give a boost to Edtech startups across the nation.

[caption id="attachment_144798" align="alignleft" width="350"] (Left-to-Right) Sarangarajan V (CTO) and Suryanarayanan P (CEO)[/caption]

Speaking on the announcement, Surya P, Co-founder & CEO, Skill-Lync, said, “Our aim is to provide students access to in-depth technical skill sets that would give them a good exposure to industry oriented problems and how it gets solved. We want to ensure that students get exposed to all the technical skills that industries are/will look for. This introductory set of courses allows engineers to get a clear idea about what domain that they need to specialize in as they enter into their professional career. During these tough times, the right use of digital technologies can go a long way in achieving the goals laid out by the government. This partnership with AICTE is to support Government's initiatives in enhancing digital learning and deal with the ‘new normal' in an efficient way.”

Talking about the courses, Surya added, “Currently we are offering free courses and live bootcamps every week. These are specially designed for learning Matlab & Python for Mechanical Engineers, CFD using SolidWorks, FEA using SolidWorks and MBD using SolidWorks. These courses provide a good amount of introductory knowledge in numerical simulation, computational fluid dynamics, finite element analysis and multi body dynamics.”

Amidst COVID, Skill-Lync saw 6-fold growth in its subscribers as compared to last month. The interesting thing is not only did they see traffic coming in from India, but had users signing up for the course from US, Europe and Asia. Last month the startup released a Masters in Electric Vehicle Design and Simulations coursework, which is India's first Master course to focus in the area of EV.

Skill-Lync is backed by global investors including Better Capital's – Vaibhav Domkundwar, Y Combinator and Founder of Gmail & YC Partner – Paul Buchheit.

AICTE selects upGrad to deliver Deep Tech skills for Students, Institutions in India

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), an MHRD undertaking, has chosen upGrad, one of India’s leading online higher education providers, to make future-forward topics like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning accessible to all.

The NEAT initiative allows universities and learners to choose the topic they want to learn from an AICTE- approved platform.

“Since upGrad’s inception our major focus has been learner-centricity. Understanding learner requirements and delivering programs specific to them has always been our priority. The one-size-fits-all approach can not and should not be followed when it comes to education. Being selected by AICTE bears testimony to our work and we are extremely glad about this recognition,” said Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & MD at upGrad, on receiving the confirmation from AICTE yesterday.

upGrad’s Post Graduation (PG) programs including the Entrepreneurship Certification, PG Diploma in Data Science, Digital Marketing Certification and Business Analytics Certification have been chosen, along with upGrad’s College programs, which includes specialisations in Data Science, Digital Marketing, Business Analytics, Fundamentals of Programming and Full Stack Development.

The decision arrived after completion of a rigorous screening procedure that involved metrics including the personalisation offered, content quality, industry and employment relevance and financial performance, to name a few.

upGrad was founded in early 2015 with the aim of providing formal education online. In a short span of around 5 years, upGrad on-boarded over 15K paid learners and impacted more than 363K individuals globally, making it India’s largest online higher education company, basis gross revenue generated from the Indian market.

upGrad provides programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and MBA to college students, working professionals and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT-B, BITS Pilani, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Duke CE, Liverpool John Moores University and others. To further enhance the learning experience, a comprehensive ecosystem has been built which includes one-on-one mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, industry networking and most importantly expert career guidance, in order to provide learners a holistic support to elevate their careers to the next level.

The company has been awarded the ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019. The company received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times and has made it to LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’ two years in a row in 2018 and 2019.

Texas Instruments, AICTE, DST and IIM-B Tie -up to bring Innovation Challenge Contest to Engg. Students in India

Texas Instruments India (TI India), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the statutory body and a national-level council for technical education in India, Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) have joined hands to strengthen the innovation ecosystem, enhance skills and drive a start-up culture amongst engineering students by ensuring that India Innovation Challenge Design Contest (IICDC) is accessible to students even in remote corners of the country. IICDC is a national design contest for engineering students.

The announcement was made at the finals of IICDC 2018, coinciding with the announcement of this year’s top 10 winning teams. The 10 finalists will get an opportunity to take their start-up idea from the lab to the market, supported by a fund from DST of INR 4.94 Crore, incubation at NSRCEL, the innovation and entrepreneurship hub at IIM Bangalore, and technical mentorship from TI engineers along with access to TI tools and technology. To-date, IICDC has incubated 20 start-ups.

[caption id="attachment_132591" align="alignleft" width="550"] Chairman Award, SRM Institute of Science &Technology, Tamil Nadu[/caption]

SRM Institute of Science and Technology from Tamil Nadu won the Chairman Award for Technical Innovation on ‘Inkless Printing Technology’. A. P. Shah Institute of Technology from Maharashtra was the first runners up for their innovation ‘Solar Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Node’ and Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College from Puducherry was adjudged second runners up award on their innovation ‘Mustard Seed Processor Machine’.

[caption id="attachment_132590" align="alignleft" width="551"] First RunnerUp Award for IICDC 2018, A. P. Shah Institute of Technology, Maharashtra[/caption]

Congratulating the IICDC 2018 winners, Sanjay Srivastava, Director, TI India University Program said, “IICDC’s vision is to give students an opportunity to be innovators and entrepreneurs, launching path-breaking technology products and solving tough, real-world challenges. In 2018, IICDC reached more than 26,000 students from 1760 colleges and we received over 10,000 ideas! The diversity of students fuelled the diversity of ideas. For instance, several ideas focus on agriculture – a segment widely deprived of technology advances. Interestingly, more than 90% of participation comes from Tier II and Tier III towns. That’s the kind of grassroots innovation we want to drive through IICDC.”

Elaborating on the partnership with IICDC, Prof. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, said, “AICTE’s mission to develop robust technical institutions and promote a scientific mind-set is perfectly aligned with IICDC’s mission to strengthen technical innovation in India. We see students as India’s change-makers with the responsibility to drive cutting edge technological innovation. We understand that the next big idea can come from any corner of the country! Our message to the student community is simple - no matter which college you study in or which pin code you reside in, if you have a powerful idea and a drive to make a difference, IICDC will give you an opportunity to achieve your goal.”

The last three editions of IICDC saw students file over 150 patents, and the numbers are increasing every year. Dr. Anita Gupta, Associate Head, DST, said, “We continue to partner with IICDC because it is a unique, powerful platform to drive student-led, tech-focused innovation. DST’s goal is to transform India to a global hub for innovation in science and technology. We also want to support innovation that can make an impact on the ground, tackling social, economic and environmental challenges. IICDC helps strengthen the innovation ecosystem by providing an opportunity to students to develop creative solutions for real world problems. Our seed funding to the winning teams aims to bring the best of these ideas to life.”

Professor Venkatesh Panchapagesan, Chair, NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore, said, “Though IIMB is not a technical institution, we believe strongly that we can aid in the creation of sustainable technical ventures through our expertise in developing businesses. Our collaboration with TI-DST in the last 4 years’ IICDC is a testimony to that. At NSRCEL, IIMB’s innovation and entrepreneurial centre, we have successfully incubated around 50 students to help shape their entrepreneurial ideas into start-ups."

By forging partnerships with multiple stakeholders with far reaching influence in technical education, expertise in business and management, industry knowhow, IICDC aims to foster an innovation and entrepreneurial culture amongst engineering students in India, and to empower them to launch successful companies with a clear purpose to make the world a better place.

IICDC 2019 launch officially announced

TI India also announced the upcoming edition of TI India Innovation Challenge Design Contest (IICDC) 2019 which opens for registration from July 23, 2019 to August 30, 2019. Students can register their innovative ideas and participate in the contest through this link: innovate.mygov.in/iicdc2019/

Indian Universities, Colleges to Soon Start Entrepreneurship Courses to Foster Startup Culture in Students

Its a fact that the startup revolution has already started in India so much so that even school goers are starting their own ventures instead of dreaming a corporate jobs, as were the case in 90s. However, it is also a fact that these fresh high school or even college graduates are falling short when it comes to implementation due to the fact that they are unaware of certain preliminary exercises that every new entrepreneurs has to go by.

Be it market research, time management, competitor analysis or contingency planning, there is no entrepreneurship study material in the curriculum of entire Indian education system and till date Indian universities merely aims to prepare students for being a good candidates for regular day jobs.

Now however in a silver lining to this dark educational framework, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), an India's statutory body and national-level council for technical education, has initiated a policy under which universities and colleges along with their normal courses will start entrepreneurship courses to foster startup culture among them.

AICTE Chairman Anil D Sahasrabudhe announced, "We need to bring students into 'start-up culture' and provide a platform where they can convert their bright ideas into innovation. We should focus on start-ups. The AICTE has made its own start-up policy through which universities and colleges along with their normal courses will start entrepreneurship courses."

According to Sahasrabudhe, the role of the AICTE was not just of a regulator but also as a facilitator committed to improving the quality of technical education. He also said that laboratories and research centres should be opened for 24 hours so that students can do research and draw new ideas.

"We should create a support system for students, including more internship or skill programme, to hone their skills," he said while addressing a gathering on the occasion of the 51st annual day of the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR).

The AICTE Chairman also assured that the council will support NITTTR for the qualitative improvement of technical education in the country.

He further said that the Indian students have a lot of potential and they just need to identify and channelize their ideas in the right direction.

It is however unclear that till when and in what exact time-frame this "Entrepreneurship Course" will begin in colleges across the country. As it is also fact of the matter that India has snail's speed when it comes to implementation of any new policy.

Last November, AICTE had announced to set up online community portals to connect more than 10,000 technical institutes across India to provide students with better opportunities at entrepreneurship, networking, jobs, internships, faculty capability building, higher education and social causes through these portals. To implement this, the council partnered with Fourth Ambit, a startup from Kerala.

In September last year, AICTE and HRD ministry had accepted the recommendations for revising the syllabi for engineering and technical institutes in the country. According to this, all engineering colleges will get new Syllabi including Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

Earlier today, we reported that AICTE has mandated all its affiliate institutions to set up innovation clubs to foster ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking in a bid to boost the Make in India initiative, govt. of India's ambitious plan to give boost to local manufacturing and entrepreneurship in India.

Via ~ Jagran Josh

All Educational Institutions in India to Have Innovation Clubs for Fostering Ideas

India's statutory body and national-level council for technical education, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), has mandated all its affiliate institutions to set up innovation clubs to foster ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking in a bid to boost the Make in India initiative, govt. of India's ambitious plan to give boost to local manufacturing and entrepreneurship in India.

In a statement to leading a daily, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabuddhe said, “Every educational institution must have an innovation club, where students and teachers can engage in activities. Also, it should be set up in a way that AICTE and MHRD can throw up challenges on the lines of Smart India Hackathon and bring out good talents."

Sahasrabuddhe has made this announcement while launching Innovation Cell and Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in New Delhi. ARIIA is also an initiative by AICTE, along with Ministry of Human Resource Development, to promote a culture of innovation and research in higher education.

ARIIA will rank educational institutions for innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used globally.

On Innovation in India, Sahasrabuddhe said, "In the past four years, our ranking in Global Innovation Index (GII) has risen to 57. It was in 100s earlier. Now these young minds will take us further up the index."

To recall, according to 2016 NASSCOM report, the reason behind the failure of 90% startups is none other than lack of innovation which has led some startups to shut their shop within a few years of their inception.

The proposed Innovation clubs in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) will network with the newly launched Innovation Cell at AICTE premises with an aim to systematically foster the culture of Innovation in all Higher Education Institutions across the country.

AICTE Innovation Cell, which will be headed by eminent scientists, will coordinate with the HEIs having proposed Innovation Clubs and also schools where Atal Tinkering Labs have already been set up under a NITI Aayog scheme.

"There is a need to bring students into startup culture and to provide them a platform where they can convert their bright ideas into innovation," Sahasrabuddhe had told the PTI.

Source - Times of India

[Top Image is representative via ~ Unsplash]

AICTE Ties-up With Edtech Startup To Connect Over 10K Tech Insitutes Across India Through Online Portals

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has decided to set up online community portals to connect more than 10,000 technical institutes — engineering, pharmacy, management, architecture and hotel management — across India.

The online platform, which will be set up over the next two years, will allow 10 million students and faculty to engage with alumni, parents and corporate partners. The AICTE plans to provide students with better opportunities at entrepreneurship, networking, jobs, internships, faculty capability building, higher education and social causes through these portals.

The project will be activated in a phased manner across various states. The AICTE plans to engage its regional offices, state universities, directorates of technical education.

Moreover, the council recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fourth Ambit, a startup from Kerala, to implement the project.

Based out of Kochi, Kerala with an office in Bangalore, Fourth Ambit is a specialist networking platform that creates value across stakeholders in the education ecosystem.

Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairperson, AICTE, said, “We hope that this project will synergise the benefits of internship, job opportunities and skilling tests under one umbrella for the student community. We request college alumni and corporate partners to join us in this endeavour and help us set up an online ecosystem to support all the technical institutions in the country.”

The colleges can build their own student, parents and alumni communities on the online platform. The students can interact with people in their own college community and from those across the country as well.

Rahul Das, CEO of Fourth Ambit, said the portals will provide the corporates access to an exclusive network of professional students. “The corporates can engage the students and even recruit them,” he said.

The development was first reported at Hindustan Times.