BHU launches 121 INI-Swayam courses for Jan–Apr 2026 session

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is an initiative by the Ministry of Education to provide quality online education free of charge to all. (Image: facebook.com/pr.iitbhu)

Banaras Hindu University has launched 121 credit-ready Institutes of National Importance (INIs) SWAYAM courses for the January–April 2026 academic session. BHU brings 71 courses for January 2026, which include Sciences, Engineering, Management, Medicine, Education, Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and interdisciplinary studies. These BHU-led courses will start from 26 January and 16 February 2026.

On the other hand, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) brings in 48 courses spanning from Arabic to Zoology, which will start from 26 January 2026. The Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) offers learners two courses in Defence & Strategic Studies and Forensic Accounting. Interested candidates can check and visit: swayam.gov.in/INI and enrol in the course.

Dr Ashutosh Mohan, National Coordinator, INI–SWAYAM, MoE, GoI of the Institute of Management Studies, BHU, remarked, “This is a big step forward in terms of access, flexibility, and quality. BHU will make sure that the INI–SWAYAM courses are in line with the spirit of NEP 2020 by being interdisciplinary, focused on getting students skilled, and open to all motivated students.” He also highlighted that two internationally co-developed courses are also going to be part of the INI SWAYAM course offerings.

Other than the above, BHU in collaboration with the SEPT Competence Centre at the University of Leipzig, Germany, has introduced two academic offerings on Digital Marketing and Branding for Start-ups, a course focusing on customer discovery, media mix, measurement, and growth strategies; and Foundation of Digital Entrepreneurship, which covers idea validation, digital product fundamentals, compliance, and go-to-market approaches for first-time founders. Additionally, select courses are offered in Hindi or bilingual formats.

In 2025, the faculty members of Banaras Hindu University had developed 63 SWAYAM programmes. The SWAYAM courses are for a duration of four, eight and 12 weeks. The courses cover subjects in commerce, management, arts, humanities, social sciences, life sciences, psychology, law, engineering, and Ayurveda.