4 Central Universities Shortlisted to Become Hubs for National Digital University

Four core Central Universities in all have been considered for selection as the hub, or the place where the National Digital University would be based. IIT Madras, the top-ranked Indian university according to the NIRF rankings, Delhi University (DU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and Indira Gandhi National Open University are among them (IGNOU).

The new digital university will reportedly be built in the next academic year, according to reports from the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission. With degrees granted by the NDU and sought-after programs presented by premier universities and colleges, it will be implemented in a “hub-and-spoke” paradigm.

The digital university will provide distinctive courses. Additionally, this university’s students will take tests and receive assessments in a number of media. The admissions process is anticipated to start in June of next year. The standards for admission and other procedures, however, have not yet been established.

On further discussion, a senior official at the Ministry of Education mentioned  to finalise one of the aforementioned higher education institutions as the ‘hub’ will be held later this month. “Each of these universities comes with their own strength such as the technical edge the IIT will provide in delivering the programmes or the experience of large operations for the likes of BHU or DU,” said the official.

When delivering the Union budget on February 1 of this year, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman suggested the creation of a digital university to give world-class quality universal education to students across the country.

At the “13th Global Skills Summit” in September the government started the process of developing a digital university with several entry and departure pathways, according to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

NIRF Ranking of above mentioned 4 Central Universities:

Name of the central university	NIRF Ranking
IIT Madras	1
Delhi University (DU)	13
Banaras Hindu University (BHU)	6
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)	NA

Also Read: Top Central Universities in India: Ranking List of Top 10 Central Universities in India.