improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains embedded lists that may be better presented using prose . you can help by converting the list or lists to prose if appropriate . editing help is available . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message niit limited skills & talent development company type public traded as bse 500304 nse niitltd industry for profit education founded 1981 founder rajendra s. pawar vijay k. thadani headquarters gurgaon india key people rajendra singh pawar chairman vijay kumar thadani vice chairman and managing director 1 rahul k. patwardhan ceo 2 services skills & talent development revenue 1 007 crore us 150 million fy 2016 number of employees 2 372 2016 3 website niit.com niit limited is an indian multinational company that offers learning management and training delivery solutions to corporations institutions and individuals . it has three main lines of business worldwide corporate learning group clg skills and careers group snc and school learning group slg . in 2006 the it services business of niit was demerged into a separately listed company niit technologies . 4 niit limited now focuses on corporate training vocational training for services sectors and education and training in schools . niit limited owns 23.98 % of niit technologies . 5 contents 1 history 2 timeline 3 business units 4 key industries 5 key initiatives 5.1 indian training centres 6 see also 7 notes and references 8 external links history edit niit was established in 1985 by rajendra s. pawar and vijay k. thadani graduates from iit 6 delhi with one million rupees . niit conceived a franchising model in it education for the very first time setting up nine centers by 1987 . in 1986 niit began its foray into the software domain beginning with software product distribution under the insoft brand . 7 the company also began offering advice and consultancy to large corporations on how to leverage technology and make optimum use of their it investments . in 1988 niit introduced many marketing and advertising strategies for the indian market including the computerdrome in 1990 . 8 another initiative launched by niit was its bhavishya jyoti scholarships program launched in 1991 9 which was targeted at deserving and socially challenged students with an aim to improve their skills and employability quotient . in 1992 niit launched its flagship program gniit an industry endorsed course with a 12 month professional practice for students seeking careers in the it and non it sectors . by 1993 niit began trading niit stocks on the indian stock exchanges . in 1996 niit began its globalization journey setting up an education center in hong kong . in the same year the company launched its virtual university net varsity . in 1998 niit joined a handful of indian tech companies to enter the chinese market . the company earned the epithet the mcdonald s of the software business by far eastern economic review in september 2001 . 10 the same year niit launched an experiment that was christened hole in the wall by media and drew international attention . the experiment was based on the minimally invasive education methodology developed by niit r & d. it suggested that children irrespective of their social ethnic or educational identity could learn to use computers by themselves without adult intervention . in 2003 niit launched its mindchampions academy mca with viswanathan anand five time former world chess champion and niit brand ambassador . niit university neemarana in 2004 niit hived off its software business into an independent organization called niit technologies ltd. source nasscom s 2013 14 ranking of top 20 it services companies . in the area of training niit launched its edgeineers program in 2005 to boost career opportunities for engineering graduates . in the same year it diversified into various sectors such as banking finance and insurance through ifbi executive management education through imperia professional life skills bpm and ict education for schools . in 2008 niit set up niit university in neemrana rajasthan . nu offers b tech and m tech programs in computer science and education technology as well as mba programs . in 2014 niit tied up with national skill development corporation to launch niit yuva jyoti centers under the pilot phase of prime minister narendra modi s skill india campaign and the pradhan mantri kaushal vikas yojana pmkvy in north east j & k and jharkhand . 11 acquisitions in 2001 niit acquired osprey dei and click2learn in the us to establish its e learning and corporate learning practices in that country . in 2006 acquired element k a leading provider of learning solutions in north america . the company was sold off in 2012 . timeline edit 1981 niit was established by rajendra s. pawar and vijay k. thadani to optimise on the opportunity of booming it education and training in india 12 1982 setup educational centres in mumbai and chennai ; 13 introduced multimedia technology in education 1983 corporate training program introduced 1984 it consultancy service started 1985 head office integrated at new delhi 1986 software product distribution started under insoft brand 1987 conceived franchising model of education 1990 created the computer drome to provide unlimited computer time to students 1991 first overseas office set up in us ; bhavishya jyoti scholarships launched for meritorious and socially challenged students 1992 gniit program started with professional practice 14 1993 received iso 9001 for software export ; 15 listed on bse 1995 niit tied up with microsoft to provide education of microsoft technologies 1996 first overseas education center launched ; launched netvarsity the virtual university ; awarded iso 9001 for computer education 1997 niit was the first indian company to be assessed at sei cmm level 5 for software business ; unique distinction puts niit into first list of 21st global companies 16 1999 achieved the status of microsoft s best training partner in asia ; five time world champion viswanathan anand became niit brand ambassador ; started hole in the wall hiwel experiment for disadvantaged children . 2000 tied up with oracle corporation to provide education on oracle technologies specially on oracle database ; 17 collaborated with sun microsystems on iforce initiatives on computing giant 18 2001 microsoft awarded niit the best training company award 19 2003 launched niit mindchampions academy with viswanathan anand to promote chess in schools . 2004 global solutions business spun off into niit technologies ; industry endorsed gniit curriculum was launches ; niit and intel signed a deal to use technology assisted learning in school 20 2005 launch of niit it aptitude test nitat 2006 launched new businesses called niit litmus which provides testing & assessment services for it & ites organizations niit imperia which would provide three certificate programmes from indian institutes of management and ifbi institute of finance banking and insurance niit ifbi 21 22 2009 founded and commenced new niit university campus in neemrana rajasthan offering more post graduation level courses . 23 2011 launch of niit yuva jyoti limited nyjl a joint venture between niit and nsdc to fuel growth in skills & employability for youth across india 2012 launch of digital marketing program ; niit received top it training company award 2012 for the 20th year in succession by cybermedia publications . 2013 niit niit university entered into a mou with autodesk to evangelize design as a learning discipline in india ; niit launched program in business analytics ; niit launches niit cloud campus a pioneering initiative undertaken to help take high quality educational programs to the remotest corners of the country ; niit enters test preparation market with ctet coaching 24 2014 niit launches its new persona based website www.niit.com 2015 internet and mobile association of india iamai recognizes niit as the best educational website ; niit enters into mou with guian new area china 2016 launch of training.com to offer online training business units edit niit is organized along the following three lines of business corporate learning group it offers managed training services mts which include custom curriculum design and content development learning administration learning delivery strategic sourcing learning technology and advisory services . skills and careers group this focuses on providing employability skills to learners . it includes learning programs in soft skills business process excellence retail sales enablement vocational skills digital media marketing new age it banking insurance and financial services through ifbi executive management through niit imperia and bpo kpo training through niit uniqua . school learning group it provides tools and products for technology based learning to government and private schools in india . it offers niit nguru learning solutions for schools which include interactive classrooms with digital content math lab it wizard programs and quick school erp software . key industries edit niit limited focuses on several industry segments besides the it bpm sector . the niit portfolio which was focused on it education at the time of the company s inception now encompasses programs that go beyond it . these include courses related to banking finance insurance executive management digital marketing big data and analytics among others . 25 the company has a robust corporate learning solutions business with customers across the globe . niit also provides customers with services including content development learning administration learning technology learning delivery strategic sourcing and advisory solutions . the company s cls business has earned several industry recognitions including the 2015 trainingindustry.com ranking which places niit among the world s top 20 workforce development companies . 26 key initiatives edit niit institute of financial banking ifbi was formed with equity participation from icici bank which offers programs to develop talent in banking industry . 27 niit offers turnkey integration programs and computer based training to over 5000 government schools through its niit k 12 business division . niit s corporate learning solutions caters to fortune 500 companies universities and technology training and publishing companies . niit imperia collaborated with kpmg india to offer advanced certified programs on international financial reporting standards ifrs . these programs are generally six weeks long and are meant to assist companies in migrating from indian general accepted accounting principals to ifrs . citation needed indian training centres edit niit has training and educational centres in the following indian states and union territories telangana andhra pradesh assam bihar chandigarh chhattisgarh delhi goa gujarat haryana himachal pradesh jammu and kashmir jharkhand karnataka kerala madhya pradesh maharashtra nagaland odisha puducherry punjab rajasthan tamil nadu tripura uttar pradesh and west bengal . 28 see also edit companies portal education in india information technology in india list of indian it companies professional certification professional certification computer technology notes and references edit niit ltd . bloomberg . bloomberg business . retrieved 8 july 2015 . niit appoints rahul patwardhan as next ceo . moneycontrol.com . cnbc tv18 . oct 6 2014 . retrieved 8 july 2015 . niit limited financial statements . economic times . toi website 1 url last accessed on 14 july 2009 niit limited holding in niit technologies . 19 january 2014 . retrieved 19 february 2014 . niit pioneered it education in india . the economic times . the economic times . 18 nov 2011 . retrieved 10 september 2015 . niit . global recorder . global recorder . retrieved 10 september 2015 . niit institute for hardware and networking courses . edu milestones . retrieved