7 Government Free Online Courses with Certificates: From NPTEL, SWAYAM, and More!

Imagine you could enhance your resume, refine your skills, and unlock new career opportunities. All without spending a rupee! If this excites you, you are most welcome to the world of government free online courses with certificates. Here, quality education comes at no cost. From digital marketing to AI and even soft skills development, free online courses are abundant.

On top of that, these courses are provided in collaboration with top-notch institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). This blog covers several of the best free online Indian government courses with certificates. Dive in to learn about their duration, certificate type, course content, and more. Additionally, explore the various job roles you can consider after earning these certificates. Let us get started.

7 Best Government Funded Free Online Courses

The government has initiated several platforms that offer you a variety of free certification courses in different domains across industries. We have refined several top-notch government free online courses with certificates. Explore them thoroughly and choose the one that is suitable for you:

1. NOC: Financial Accounting by IIT Bombay + NPTEL

Government-led organisation NPTEL offers you this course in collaboration with IIT Bombay. It discusses the fundamentals of financial reporting and accounting. Learn about financial terminology, how events influence firm value, how transactions get recorded into the system, and more. The course aims to prepare you for accounting and financial statement roles in the corporate realm. Moreover, there are four types of certificates: silver, gold, elite, and completed. Depending on your marks, this would vary.

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  Duration: 3 Months
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  Minimum Eligibility: Anyone with a relevant interest or knowledge can enrol.
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  Certificate Type: Digital Certificate

Source: AmbitionBox

Also Read: 5 Free Online AI Courses By IIT Madras: Enhance Your Resume

2. Customer Relationship Management by IIT Kharagpur + NPTEL

A business’s growth significantly depends on its customer base and its reliability towards the organisation. Thus, companies strive to satisfy their customers and expand their user base, and so do their competitors. Now, success and growth rate depend on who does this better. NPTEL’s CRM course focuses on the concept and motive behind customer relationship management. Offered in partnership with IIT Kharagpur, the 3-month course provides you with an understanding of how to transform first-time interactions into lasting, meaningful customer relationships. It includes digital certificates that you would receive by the end of the course.

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  Duration: 3 Months
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  Minimum Eligibility: Anyone with relevant knowledge or interest.
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  Certificate Type: Digital Certificate (You may need to pay for the final exam to receive the certificate)

Source: AmbitionBox

3. 21st Century Employability Skills  by Swayam Plus + WADHWANI Foundation 

It is one of the best government free online courses with certificates to thrive at your workplace. Offered in collaboration with the WADHWANI Foundation, this Swayam Plus course spans 120 hours. The free online certification course trains you in effective communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Learn to master job interview techniques and get ready to excel in your desired job role. Additionally, the course enhances your employability skills, making you job-ready for various roles across multiple industries based on your abilities. Depending on your specialisation, the job roles would vary.

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  Duration: 120 Hours
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  Minimum Eligibility: Open to everyone 
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  Certificate Type: Free certification

Source: AmbitionBox

4. Data Structures and Algorithms Design by IIT Kanpur + NPTEL

As the world is becoming digital, businesses rely on algorithms for various purposes. It is NPTEL, one of the government free online courses with certificates for beginners. The course aims to introduce you to the basics of data structures, programming languages, and algorithm design. Learn about basic data structures such as arrays, lists, matrices, trees, heal, graphs, etc. The course involves three types of certificates: gold, elite, and completed.

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  Duration: 4 Months (approx.)
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  Minimum Eligibility: Anyone with relevant interest or knowledge.
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  Certificate Type: Paid Certificate

Source: AmbitionBox

5. Psychology of Stress, Health and Well-Being by IIT Guwahati + Swayam

Psychology is an integral part of the humanities and social sciences. Its positive impact on stress, mental health, and physical well-being is remarkable. To provide students with an in-depth understanding of psychology and its importance, IIT Guwahati offers this course with Swayam certification. Moreover, this is among the top Indian government free online courses with certificates. It is approved by AICTE, making it widely recognised.

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  Duration: 12 Weeks
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  Minimum Eligibility: UG and PG candidates in humanities, social sciences and sciences and engineering.
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  Certificate Type: Digital and Paid

Source: AmbitionBox

6. AI Engineer by Swayam Plus + Microsoft

As AI is an emerging field, this course could be your ideal choice among government free online courses with certificates. Swayam Plus offers these certificate courses in tie-ups with Microsoft. This is a free, self-paced learning course that educates you on data science, programming languages, and software development. Learn to implement NLP solutions, handle Azure AI solutions, image and video processing, and more. Furthermore, while the learning is entirely free, Microsoft certification is optional and paid, which is a separate cost.

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  Duration: 33 Hours
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  Minimum Eligibility: Azure AI engineers or candidates with knowledge of Python and C#.
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  Certificate Type: Paid Certificate

Source: AmbitionBox

Explore: Free Certification Courses in AI and ML

7. Introduction to Graphic Design by IIT Hyderabad + Swayam

Learn about the basic elements of graphic design from the instructors of IIT Hyderabad. IITH offers you this course in collaboration with the Swayam portal. It is one of the most popular government free online courses with certificates. It covers the designing principles, branding, typography, and much more. You get an understanding of visual graphics such as icons, symbols, pictograms, etc. Furthermore, the course consists of 7 modules, which will be covered over an 8-week duration.

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  Duration: 8 Weeks
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  Minimum Eligibility: Anyone with undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications can enrol.
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  Certificate Type: Digital and Paid

Source: AmbitionBox

What are Swayam, Swayam Plus & NPTEL About?

Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds is popularly known as SWAYAM. This is a government-led platform that offers free online courses and educational resources to learners nationwide. It also includes massive open online courses (MOOCs) to cater to a diverse range of learners. NPTEL, on the other hand, is a leading partner within the Swayam portal.

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) offers courses primarily in science and engineering. Moving on, SWAYAM Plus is a brand-new initiative, an advanced version of SWAYAM. While the Swayam portal collaborates with government-associated institutes, such as IITs, IIITs, and NPTEL, Swayam Plus partners with global institutes like Cambridge and MNCs like Microsoft to provide online certification courses, many of which are free or offered at a minimal price.

Signing Off

The government of India has taken various initiatives to enhance the literacy rate across the nation. To do this, Swayam and Swayam Plus are the top platforms sponsored by the Indian government that offer valuable government free online courses with certificates. Pursuing your certifications from these platforms allows you to learn free of cost from the top mentors of IITs, IIITs, and other institutions.

Moreover, most courses at NPTEL, Swayam, and Swayam Plus are free to enrol in and learn. However, earning a certificate requires you to take a proctored exam, which can be either online or in person. You must pay a specific amount to take these exams and obtain these certifications. On the other hand, applying for certifications is not mandatory. Just enrol and get on board with your learning for a lucrative career.