‘SWAYAM’, an initiative of the Government of India, aims at

1. Promoting the Self-Help Groups in rural areas
2. providing financial and technical assistance to young start-up entrepreneurs
3. promoting the education and health of adolescent girls
4. providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free.

Explanation

Option (d) is correct

• SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is a programme initiated by the Ministry of Education. The objective is to bridge the digital divide for students who have remained untouched by the digital revolution.
• This platform hosts all the courses taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere, at any time, free of cost to any learner.
• SWAYAM Plus Portal:
  • It will offer programs in sectors like Manufacturing, Energy, Computer Science and Engineering/IT/ITES, Management Studies, Healthcare, Hospitality, Tourism, etc.
  • The platform is designed to offer employability and professional development‐focused courses developed collaboratively with industry experts such as L&T, Microsoft, CISCO, and more.
  • Features: Multilingual content, AI-enabled chatbot for student assistance, and credit recognition.
  • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will be operating the ‘SWAYAM Plus’ Platform.
  • Courses offered through SWAYAM Plus will be accredited & developed in collaboration with reputed industrial houses, UGC, esteemed education departments, & IITs in line with NEP, 2020.

Answer: (d) providing affordable and quality education to the citizens for free; Difficulty Level: Easy