ICT questions are mostly full forms, definitions and names of government platforms. You do not need to be technical, only familiar with the terms. These notes gather the abbreviations and digital initiatives that appear most often.
Abbreviations
Internet and e-mail
Digital initiatives
e-governance
Cyber safety
4 syllabus topics
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Updated 11 October 2026
NET Law 058 is an independent study aid, not affiliated with UGC or NTA. Always check the official UGC NET syllabus and the latest official sources for any data.
What Unit 8 covers
ICT is a factual unit, so a short, regularly revised list of terms and platforms is the best preparation. The official syllabus lists 4 topics for this unit. Each is explained below with the points examiners most often use.
1ICT: general abbreviations and terminology
ICT means Information and Communication Technology. It covers computers, networks, software and all tools used to create, store, send and receive information.
Hardware is the physical part of a computer, such as the CPU, RAM and keyboard. Software is the set of programs, either system software (operating system) or application software (word processor).
A bit is the smallest unit of data. A byte is 8 bits. Memory units rise as KB, MB, GB and TB.
RAM is volatile working memory, and ROM is permanent read-only memory. Common file extensions are .docx (Word), .xlsx (Excel), .pptx (PowerPoint) and .pdf.
2Basics of internet, intranet, e-mail and audio/video conferencing
The internet is a global network of networks. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the system of linked pages on it, viewed with a browser and found with a search engine.
An intranet is a private network within an organisation. An extranet shares part of it with outside partners.
E-mail is asynchronous. To sends the message, Cc sends a visible copy, and Bcc sends a blind copy whose recipients are hidden from others.
Audio and video conferencing allows real-time meetings and online classes through tools such as Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex.
3Digital initiatives in higher education
SWAYAM offers MOOCs from school to postgraduate level. SWAYAM Prabha is a group of DTH television channels for educational content.
e-PG Pathshala gives e-content for postgraduate courses. Shodhganga is the repository of Indian theses and dissertations, run by INFLIBNET.
National Digital Library of India (NDLI), NPTEL (courses from the IITs and IISc), National Academic Depository (NAD) and the Academic Bank of Credits are other key initiatives.
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials freely available for use and reuse.
4ICT and governance
e-governance is the use of ICT to deliver public services and run administration. Digital India was launched in July 2015 with pillars such as broadband highways, e-governance and universal access to mobile connectivity.
Examples: DigiLocker for documents, UMANG for services, UPI for payments, and the Aadhaar-enabled services.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 gives legal recognition to electronic records and digital signatures and deals with cyber offences.
Cyber safety basics: use strong passwords, two-factor authentication and firewalls, and watch for phishing, which is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information, often by fake e-mail.
Quick reference tables
Common ICT abbreviations
Abbreviation
Full form
HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
WWW
World Wide Web
CPU
Central Processing Unit
RAM
Random Access Memory
ROM
Read Only Memory
LAN
Local Area Network
WAN
Wide Area Network
ISP
Internet Service Provider
IP
Internet Protocol
HTML
HyperText Markup Language
MOOC
Massive Open Online Course
UPI
Unified Payments Interface
Digital initiatives in education
Initiative
Purpose
SWAYAM
MOOCs platform
SWAYAM Prabha
Educational DTH television channels
NPTEL
Technology courses from IITs and IISc
e-PG Pathshala
E-content for postgraduate subjects
Shodhganga
Repository of Indian theses (INFLIBNET)
NDLI
National Digital Library of India
DIKSHA
School education content and teacher resources
National Academic Depository
Digital store of academic awards and certificates
Key terms and facts to remember
Digital India2015
Programme launched in July 2015 to make services available electronically.
Information Technology Act2000
Legal recognition of electronic records, digital signatures and cyber offences.
1 byte
Equals 8 bits.
Intranet
Private network inside an organisation.
Bcc
Blind carbon copy; recipients are hidden from each other.
Phishing
Fraudulent attempt to obtain passwords or bank details, often by fake e-mail.
Firewall
Filters network traffic for security.
Cloud computing
Delivery of computing services over the internet.
Shodhganga
Repository of Indian theses and dissertations.
SWAYAM
Free MOOCs platform from the Government of India.
Two-factor authentication
Needs one more proof of identity beyond the password.
Practise ICT MCQs topic by topic
Beyond the six samples, all 730 questions for this unit are on their own pages, grouped by syllabus topic, with the answer key on the page.