Lok Sabha Question No. 4191 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Establishment of Digital University
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Dr. T. Sumathy (a) Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Pritam Gopinath Munde, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4191 ANSWERED ON 27.03.2023

## Establishment of Digital University

4191.   SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE: SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: DR. T. SUMATHY (a) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN: DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE: SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  established  a  Digital  University  as  announced  in  the  2022-23 Budget, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether the Government has partnered with any institutes, within the country and abroad, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the  manner  in  which  the  Government  is  planning  to  promote  the  same  among  vulnerable communities and classes that cannot easily afford digital devices to pursue an online education in various States of the country including Odisha;
- (d) the official figures of all the scholarships granted through the National Scholarship Portal in 202122, Scheme/State-wise;
- (e)  the details of the scholarship scheme which has the most beneficiaries; and
- (f) the number of beneficiaries who failed in their subsequent years of study, thereby waiving their scholarship and the action taken or likely to be taken by the Government to help them?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) to (c)  Government of India in its Budget Announcement 2022-2023 has announced establishment of  Digital  University.  It  will  provide  access  to  students  across  the  country  for  world-class  quality universal education with personalised learning experience at their doorsteps. The  salient feature of the  Digital  University  is  a  networked  hub-spoke  model,  with  the  hub  building  cutting  edge  ICT expertise  by  partnering with  various  top  institutions  such  as  IIT-Madras,  Delhi  University,  IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur, etc.

To ensure the reach of educational contents to all communities including vulnerable communities and classes  in  all  States  including  Odisha,  various  initiatives  such  as  Multi-lingual  content,  accessible Learning  Management  System,  linking  peer  learners  to  create  strong  learning  communities  and synchronised, experiential learning by blending multi-modal education through SWAYAM, SWAYAM PRABHA TV CHANNELS etc. has been planned.

(d) to (f) The National Scholarship Portal (NSP) is maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). As per the information provided by the NIC teams maintaining the NSP, in Academic Year 2021-2022, a total of 115 scholarship schemes were  hosted  on  NSP  covering  Central  Sector  Schemes,  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  and  State Schemes. The Scheme-wise details on these scholarships are at https://www.education.gov.in/parl\_ques. The State-wise information can be accessed at https://nsp.gov.in/dashboard/statepage#. The NSP maintains a 24x7 helpline to assist the students. It also sends communication to the state nodal officers and SMS to the eligible students, so that they can complete the application in a timely manner.

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