Education
Prepinsta earns Nasscom nod for data science and analytics courses under Prime plan
MUMBAI: In India’s ever-growing skilling rush, one platform just landed a serious badge of honour. Prepinsta, known for its tech upskilling hustle, has secured Nasscom certification for its data science and analytics courses, adding a powerful new edge to its prime subscription offerings. For learners, this means more than just fancy modules—it’s a direct ticket to industry-backed credibility.
Nasscom, the IT industry’s apex body, officially certified Prepinsta’s courses under the Prime plan, giving students not only access to its learning modules but also to direct Nasscom assessments. On successful course completion, students receive a Nasscom-issued certificate—an increasingly valuable stamp of industry relevance.
“This is a proud moment for us. At Prepinsta, our focus has always been on delivering high-quality, career-oriented learning experiences. Being Nasscom certified affirms our commitment to excellence and industry relevance. It motivates us to keep pushing forward with even greater passion, helping students build real, job-ready skills that lead to tangible outcomes”, said Prepinsta co-founder Manish Agarwal.
The certified courses are now live on the Nasscom portal, upping their visibility among job seekers and professionals alike. This also boosts the value proposition of Prepinsta Prime, which already offers over 200 courses covering recorded lectures, mock tests, and company-specific training. With flexible learning paths aligned to specific job roles or targeted placements, the platform continues to cater to outcome-oriented learners.
The Nasscom nod follows another win: selection under the AICTE NEAT 4.0 initiative. Under this government-backed scheme, Prepinsta courses are available at discounted prices to socially and economically disadvantaged students via the NEAT portal, pushing its mission of equitable access into action.
The company recently took another big leap with the launch of Optimus, a SaaS platform for the Business-to-Institution (B2I) market. Optimus helps colleges streamline placement training with performance tracking, analytics, and governance tools. Over 250 institutions across North and South India currently use Prepinsta’s B2I stack to boost student placement outcomes.
As the tech talent war intensifies, Prepinsta’s bet on certifications, custom learning tracks, and institutional collaboration appears to be paying off. With the Nasscom endorsement in hand and national initiatives backing its expansion, Prepinsta continues its sprint towards making India job-ready—one certified learner at a time.
Education
Abhishek Singh appointed director general of National Testing Agency
Technocrat with deep roots in India’s digital infrastructure push takes charge of the exam body that has faced intense scrutiny
NEW DELHI: India’s beleaguered examination authority has a new boss. Abhishek Singh, currently director general of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), has been appointed director general of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which sits under the Ministry of Education. In a signal of just how seriously the government is treating the role, the post has been temporarily upgraded to the rank and pay of secretary to the government of India.
Singh is not your typical bureaucrat shuffled sideways into a troubled institution. At the NIC, he also held additional charge as additional secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), overseeing artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and the Digital India Bhashini division, while simultaneously serving as chief executive of the India AI Mission. That is a formidable technology portfolio by any measure.
His CV reads like a guided tour of India’s digital public infrastructure. He served as president and chief executive of the National e-Governance Division, managing director and chief executive of Digital India Corporation, chief executive of Karmayogi Bharat, and chief executive of MyGov between 2019 and 2024. Before that, from 2014 to 2017, he was executive director at the Food Corporation of India, where he handled information technology, engineering, storage and, additionally, the North Zone operations and the role of chief vigilance officer.
His field credentials are equally robust. Singh has served in both Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh across multiple tenures, navigating law and order, floods, droughts and communal tensions with equal measure. As principal secretary to the chief minister of Nagaland between 2017 and 2019, he also held charge of urban development, personnel and administrative reforms, and, in 2018, home commissioner. At the grassroots, he built roads, irrigation systems, schools and hospitals, and drove welfare programmes focused on poverty alleviation, education and healthcare.
Singh has also worked alongside international agencies including DFID, UNICEF and WHO, contributing to the Child’s Environment Project in Budaun and the Pulse Polio Eradication Programme in Uttar Pradesh. He has conducted elections at the parliamentary, state assembly and local body levels.
Academically, he is no slouch either. Singh holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Mason Fellow, and completed his B.Tech and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur.
Meanwhile, the broader bureaucratic reshuffle sees Bihar cadre IAS officer Chanchal Kumar named the new secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Rohit Kansal of the UT cadre moves to the Rural Development Ministry as special secretary, while IAS officer Vikram Yadav has been appointed director general of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The outgoing I&B secretary has been reassigned as secretary in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
The NTA needed someone who could rewire both its credibility and its systems. Singh has spent a career doing exactly that.
