DESH-Stack e-portal to boost skills, digital varsity for global learning

New Delhi: A Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood, the DESH-Stack eportal, will be launched to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through online training, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Presenting the Budget 2022-23 in Parliament, Sitharaman also announced that a digital university will be established to provide access to world-class quality universal education to students across the country with a personalised learning experience at their doorsteps.

This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT (information and communication technology) formats. The university will be built on a networked hub-and-spoke model, with the hub building cutting-edge ICT expertise. The best public universit i e s and institutions in the country will collaborate as a network of hubs and spokes, she shared.

The finance minister said programmes and partnerships with the industry will be reoriented to promote continuous skilling avenues, sustainability and employability.

The National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) will be aligned with industry needs.

Sitharaman announced that 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, as well as 75 skilling e-labs for a simulated learning environment, will be set up in 2022-23 to promote critical thinking skills and to give space for creativity.

Referring to the Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood, she said the portal aims to empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through online training. It will also provide application program interface (API)-based trusted skill credentials, payment and discovery layers to find relevant jobs.

The finance minister declared that start-ups will be promoted to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications. (PTI)