Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, a Scientific Society of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India (C-DAC), has strongly refuted reports published in certain newspapers under the headline “Punjab blacklists C-DAC as glitches mar ITI admissions.” These reports are false, misleading, and not based on facts.
Director, C-DAC Mohali, Shri V.K. Sharma informed that C-DAC was entrusted with the responsibility of providing IT and computational services for the Admission and Counselling Process of Punjab ITIs (Session 2025–26) on 21 June 2025. The admission portal was launched on 04 July 2025, within 15 days of the award of work, after receiving all necessary inputs and master data from the Directorate of Technical Education and Industrial Training (DTE & IT), Punjab, and only after their confirmation.
The system was developed strictly in line with the requirements and instructions of DTE & IT Punjab. Shri V.K Sharma said that the allegation of “technical glitches” in the portal is completely baseless. By 30 August 2025, a total of 59,507 students successfully registered on the online portal.
Of these, 55,866 applications were verified and accepted by Nodal Officers of DTE & IT Punjab, 1,580 applications were rejected after due verification, and the rest were reverted to applicants for correction or re-verification. These figures clearly prove that the portal functioned efficiently and that claims of technical failures are unfounded.
He said that the allegation of delay in the admission process is also completely misleading as C-DAC received the assignment only on 21 June 2025 and launched the portal on 04 July 2025, there was no delay on its part. By 30 August 2025, 65% of the sanctioned intake of Government ITIs had already been filled through the online system.
To further assist applicants, C-DAC also sent out SMS and e-mail notifications to ensure smooth facilitation of admissions. Head of Administration, C-DAC, Mohali, Shri Kuldeep Dwivedi informed that It is important to emphasize that at no stage has DTE & IT Punjab issued any official communication declaring C-DAC as blacklisted.
Certain media reports appear to be based on misinterpretation and have presented incorrect information that unfairly damages the image of C-DAC. He said that C-DAC reiterates its commitment to conducting a transparent, fair, and merit-based admission process, in strict accordance with the guidelines of DTE & IT Punjab.
The organization urges the media to ensure responsible and fact-checked reporting in the future by verifying details with the competent authorities before publication. This clarification is issued without prejudice to C-DAC’s legal rights.
As a responsible national institution, C-DAC rightfully expects an apology from the concerned media outlets and the immediate publication of a corrigendum to correct the misleading reports.