Best Free Online Courses In India In 2023 (With Certifications)

Skills have become the most sought-after assets in any person, and you needn’t spend a single penny to learn skills for there are plenty of free online courses in India.

Have you always had the desire to upgrade your skill-set and add weightage to your resume by pursuing a new course but do not have the time due to other commitments like job, education, managing household chores, and kids?. Now you can pursue your dream without compromising on your commitments as there are many Free Online Courses in India that one can opt for.

Moreover, during the pandemic and lockdown, people have realized that online courses are the most convenient and cost-effective means to upgrade their knowledge and skill-set as the hassle of commuting to training centres and colleges can be totally avoided. You can do these courses from the comfort of your home.

Also, these online courses are free hence it doesn’t burn a hole into your pockets. Most of these courses also provide certification on payment of a minimum amount which adds value to your resume. These courses promise you rich content, instructor-led videos, interactive quizzes, and several case studies. You can take advantage of a student support community too to study at your own pace.

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Below enlisted are currently available free Online Courses in India spanning across four careers which are as follows:

1. Graphic Designing 

If you have a creative streak in your personality teamed with an interest in technology, then it’s time to embark on the journey of being a graphic designer. Irrespective of whether you are a beginner or a pro, these courses will definitely hone your skills as a graphic designer. These courses will teach you the core principles for Visual Design, Creating Brand Systems, Typography, Photoshop, Professional Logo Design, Building Creative Websites, and many other fundamental aspects of Graphic Designing. Each aspect of Graphic Designing is taught by experts in their respective fields.

Not all the courses on these platforms are free. Hence, below mentioned are 5 free online courses in India in graphic designing:

• Udemy: Introduction to Graphic Design, Learn Adobe Photoshop from Scratch, Professional Logo Design in Adobe Illustrator
• Skillshare: Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Visual Design, Creating Brand Systems: An Overview of Combining Logos and Type, Typography That Works: Typographic Composition and Fonts
• Coursera: Graphic Design by David Underwood, Fundamentals of Graphic Design, Introduction to Typography
• Alison: Visual and Graphic Design course
• Canva: Graphic Design Basics 
• Shaw Academy: Shaw Academy has a detailed Graphic Design course, a budget-friendly graphic design course, as well as courses on Photoshop, Illustrator, and Web Design. The course is free for 4 weeks.

2. Data Science Courses

Today, the multinationals and corporate giants are turning towards data science professionals to help procure insights from the vast reserves of data. Thus there is a magnanimous demand for people skilled in data mining, programming, and statistical modeling. If you want to take your career a notch higher you must contemplate taking up these online Data Science courses without worrying about taking massive educational loans as most of these courses are free.

With the proliferation of free online courses in India, it sometimes becomes difficult to choose from an array of options available in the market. Hence, a list of free online Data Science courses is given here.

Computer Science & Programming Using Python

This is a 9 weeks introductory course offered by MITx on edX. This course enables the students to think about how to use computation and write programs to deal with real-world analytical problems using Python 3.5. At the end of the course, you will have considerable knowledge about computation, algorithmic complexity, data structures, Python, testing, and debugging. It is a free course, but if you wish to increase the credibility of your resume you may go for certification which is available on the payment of Rs 5,547.

• Data Science: Machine Learning

This is an 8 weeks introductory course offered by Harvard on edX. This course teaches you machine learning (ML) algorithms and principal component analysis. It familiarizes you with regularisation by building a movie recommendation system. It will equip you with the ability to use a data set to discover potentially predictive relationships and training algorithms. This too is a free course but you need to pay Rs 3,624 to procure a certificate.

• Statistics with Python Specialization

This is an 8 weeks introductory course offered by the University of Michigan on Coursera. This course will allow you to learn statistical analysis using Python. You will learn about the various data sources, types of data, data management, and how to create and interpret data visualizations.

At the end of the course, you will be able to interpret inferential procedures while analyzing real-world data, apply statistical modeling techniques as well as gain the ability to comprehend how you can connect research questions to data analysis methods.

• Data Analysis & Visualization

This is an intermediate 16 weeks course offered by Georgia Tech on Udacity. This course will help you analyze complex high-dimensional data. It encompasses the most contemporary data modeling and visualization techniques using the R programming language. This acts as a good foundation for other courses like Tensor Flow for Deep Learning and Advanced Android with Kotlin.

• Data Science Ethics

This is a 4-week introductory course offered by the University of Michigan on Coursera. This course allows you to explore the ethical considerations around the privacy of consumer information, concerning recent large-scale data breaches. It will provide you with a good configuration to analyze the pressing concerns around privacy and the broader implications of collecting big data.

The course will also answer your queries as to who owns data, how you can receive informed consent, and what it means to be fair, accountable, and transparent.

Thus the above-enlisted courses are one of the best free online courses in India in the field of Data Science and you ought to take up this opportunity.

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3. Social Media Marketing 

If you own a business, you need to propagate your brand in the global market to increase brand awareness. Here comes the role of Social Media Marketing which is one of the most prominent aspects of Digital Marketing. Social Media Marketing is important because the world’s 50% of the population is glued to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

People worldwide follow popular brands and businesses on social media hence every business needs to have a social media presence. You constantly need to keep your brand in public glare and what better way than Social Media Marketing. Even if you do not own a business, Social Media Marketing is a lucrative career. If you are wondering how to be a Social Media Marketer and you are someone who inclines creativity, then Social Media Marketing is one of the key skills that would escalate the value of your resume.

Following are the Free Online Courses in India in Social Media Marketing:

• Introduction to Social Media Strategy

This is a 45-minute class offered by Skillshare. This course will help you get started with social media. It will give you introductory knowledge about creating and curating content, using the appropriate marketing tools, creating brand awareness, increasing web traffic, and designing a simple social media strategy to achieve your business goals on Facebook and Twitter.

• Introduction to Social Media Advertising

This is a Social Media Advertising course again offered by Skillshare. It includes topics like explicating key terms and vocabulary, setting campaign goals, tapping the target audience, designing attractive copy and visuals, and optimizing campaigns for long-term success. Hence, this course includes everything you need to know about succeeding with social media ads. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to run your first social media ad campaign and connect with customers, convert views into action, and make an impact for long-term business success.

• What Is Social?

This course is created by Northwestern University but offered by Coursera. This course introduces you to topics such as Social trends, Defining target audiences, and Data analysis. It is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for business owners, executives, and marketing professionals who want to scale up their business using effective social media strategies. The most prominent feature of this course is that it’s an action-oriented, hands-on class where you not only get to know about different strategies to grow your professional arena using social media, but you will actually get an opportunity to do it. So you just can’t afford to miss this one!

• Social Media Monitoring

This course is curated by Eric Schwartzman and is offered by Coursera. The course includes topics like Keyword Filtering, Using Google Alerts and its benefits, Identifying Influencers, Content Curation, Monitoring strategies for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. This course will help you monitor the pulse of your audiences and customers online. The course allows you to explore the various social media monitoring tools available for use, strategies of how you can put into action what you have learned and apply it to your own social media program.

• The Business of Social

This course is curated by Northwestern University and offered by Coursera. The course encompasses topics like Exploring where social media fits in, How to utilize social media to achieve the desired business goals, and Managing and measuring a successful social media program. This course throws light on how to measure your social investments in terms of time, cost, and opportunities.

• Social Media Ethics

Yet another course was designed by Eric Schwartzman and offered by Coursera. As the name says, this course teaches you how to use social media effectively and ethically. This course offers the quintessential guidelines for social networking that constitutes ethical behaviour on social media. It imparts you the knowledge about Local, State, and Federal laws and hence demystifies the guessing game of what is and is not legal on social media for all the professionals and employees of businesses.

• Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking up Clients

This course is created by Brian Yang and offered by Udemy. It includes topics like Common social media myths and mistakes, the skill of using Facebook Groups, Attracting YouTube subscribers, creating engaging videos, and creating quality content for social media. This being an intermediate level course, it is assumed that you already know the basics such as setting up social media accounts and basic posting tactics. Hence this course will guide you on how to optimally utilize the social media platforms that you’re already familiar with. The pre-requisite for this course is an active Facebook, YouTube, and Reddit account and you are all set to learn the secrets of picking up clients on social media.

• Facebook Blueprint

This course is created by Blueprint eLearning and offered by Facebook. The topics included in this course are Facebook Terminologies and know-how, Best Practices for Facebook & Instagram Posting, Optimizing Facebook & Instagram Advertising, and creating a quality Facebook Page.

This course is apt for small business owners, marketers, agencies, and advertisers that will equip you with the ability to run successful advertising campaigns using your Facebook Business Page. This is a magnanimous reservoir of a free, self-paced social media class that encompasses best practices and top strategies used by the world’s largest brands. This is the ultimate opportunity for businesses and marketers to get every ounce of value out of the money you spend.

Just pull up your socks to lap up the above-mentioned Social Media Marketing courses because these are the most coveted free online courses in India.

4.Creative Writing 

If you can knit a wonderful story, essay, article, or poetry with your magical words, then Creative Writing is the most suitable career option for you. Creative Writing courses can shape your thought process by teaching you the finer nuances of writing and can give you an edge over others when it comes to carving a niche as a prolific writer.

You can also become a freelance writer for various websites or procure a job in a prestigious creative writing firm. To help you embark on your creative journey there are available a handful of free online courses in India. All these courses are available on Coursera.

• Creative Writing Specialization

This course is curated by Wesleyan University. The course covers three major creative writing genres—short story, narrative essay, and memoir. You will master the techniques that renowned authors use to weave a compelling story, with well-etched characters and an intriguing setting. This course will grant you an opportunity to analyze and constructively evaluate peer writing. You will get hands-on experience to actually draft, rewrite, and complete an original story in the genre of your choice.

• Write Your First Novel

Many people have this dream and desire to write a novel but this dream never shapes into a reality. This course designed by Michigan State University will give you an excellent opportunity to write a full-fledged 50,000-word novel that you can put up for publication. You will be going through a step-by-step detailed process where you will learn how to form a basic idea that culminates into a well-structured work of fiction (novel).

• Writing for Young Readers: Opening the Treasure Chest

This course curated by Commonwealth Education Trust is for students and budding authors who wish to write for young readers i.e. children. This course comprises video lectures, online readings, peer reviews, and guest appearances from renowned children’s authors around the world. Thus, it serves as an excellent guide to learning the tools and techniques to improve your writing skills.

It molds your identity as a writer as you get introduced to the prime elements of narrative like character, setting, plot, theme, language, dialogue, point of view, etc. You get an opportunity to be a part of a dynamic online community of writers as you build your own individuality and develop your own voice. By the end of the course, you will have ten to twelve pieces of writing at your disposal which you can further develop into a portfolio.

• Feature-Length Screenplay for Film or Television

This is a 4-week program designed by Michigan State University. This course will allow you to write a feature-length screenplay for film or television in the genre of your interest like drama, comedy, romance, suspense-thriller, etc. Following a well-planned step-by-step process, you will be able to conjure a refined, pitch-ready script by the end of 4 weeks.

Not only will you learn how to create a basic idea and write loglines, but you will be studying the Three Act Story Arc, and many other minute details about screen playwriting. The most outstanding feature of this course is that it is based on the principle of Active Learning .i.e. learning by doing. 

• Memoir and Personal Essay: Write About Yourself Specialization

This course is curated by Wesleyan University. This course has roped in stalwarts in the field of writing memoirs and essays who will be disclosing the tricks and tools of writing about yourself. They will be sharing professional tips, prompts, readings, challenges, and exercises to help you imagine, build, and write compelling pieces of non-fiction’s most popular form: the personal narrative.

This course will require you to write 16 assignments, read and review the written pieces of others, and subsequently develop and write the story of your own life. Thus, you will have a portfolio of your memoirs and essays by the end of the course

• Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop

If you believe that poetry is just another means of expression then you are highly mistaken. Poetry must be instrumental in changing people’s thoughts and ideologies. This course curated by the California Institute of Arts is built on this principle. 

This course covers the significant poetic terms and devices which you will learn through studying poems by renowned modern and contemporary poets and then get a chance to try your own hand at writing new poems. During the entire course, you will get an opportunity to share your poetic pieces through different workshops and get feedback on your work which will help you to improvise your poetic work.

• Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences

This course designed by Sydney’s University of New South Wales is a multi-faceted one. Transmedia storytelling is the art of designing, sharing, and participating in a story experience across various traditional and digital platforms for entertainment, advertising, marketing, and bringing about a social change. Hence this course will equip you with the ability to develop expansive narratives and optimize your writing for mobile devices, social media platforms, virtual and augmented realities.

The course entitles you to a unique, authentic, and industry-relevant learning experience. The University of New South Wales has a collaboration with X Media Lab hence, it will give you access to recent contemporary theories, industry examples, professional advice from transmedia storytelling professionals from Hollywood USA, Canada, and Australia, and the tools and techniques to develop your own ideas.

All the above-mentioned free online courses in India can be pursued sitting at home and learning at your own pace.

This article covers the available free online courses in India spanning across four careers but there are many other fields like Online MBA, Programming, Foreign Language Courses, App Development, Film Making, Human Resource Management, Photography, etc. where there are available free online courses in India.

Why Free Online Courses in India are becoming popular?

• You can learn from any place and at any time
• You can review lectures to understand and revise the content thoroughly
• Online courses are less intimidating since there is no physical classroom environment
• Flexible Learning Schedule
• Cost-effective and time-saving
• Availability of best and experienced instructors from all around the world
• Opportunity to interact with students from diverse backgrounds and countries
• Opportunity to share and exchange ideas on a broader platform 
• Certification is available in most of the courses which help procure jobs 

Thus, we can conclude that the current wave of free online courses in India is not the only rage but is here to stay for a long, long time. Next time, when you think of broadening your learning horizons and scale up your career prospects you ought to take advantage of the most coveted free online courses in India.