Himachal Pradesh University would become the eighth university in India to have National Knowledge Network (NKN), Union minister Sachin Pilot said on Sunday.

"The Centre has launched Rs 5,590 crore network plan for providing connectivity to educational institutions and HPU would become the eighth university to have this latest facility," Pilot said.

The Minister of State for Communication and IT was the chief guest at the valedictory function of foundation day celebrations of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). Students in remote areas would be able to get education through video-conference after the launch of this facility, while 2.5 lakh villages shall be provided internet, the minister said.

The NKN is a state-of-the-art multi-gigabit pan-India network for providing a unified high speed network backbone for all knowledge related institutions in the country. It will enable scientists, researchers and students from different backgrounds and diverse geographies to work closely for advancing human development in critical and emerging areas.

Pilot also announced a mobile service, which offers SMS at the rate of 10 paise and free downloading facility of 150 MB, for teaching and non-teaching employees of the HPU.

Later, the minister inaugurated the excavate fault management centre of BSNL in the state capital. The BSNL's main aim is to provide network in the most difficult areas in hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, and also provide quality service to customers, he said.