The .Net framework consists of 3 main parts.

Programming languages:
C#
Visual Basic (VB .NET)
J# (Pronounced J sharp)

Server technologies and client technologies:
ASP .NET (Active Server Pages)
Windows Forms (Windows desktop solutions)
Compact Framework (PDA / Mobile solutions)

Development environments:
Visual Studio .NET (VS .NET)
Visual Web Developer

ASP.NET is used to build web applications easily. Since HTML standards has to be maintained to compatible with most of the browsers web pages won't look quite as amazing as a fully fledged application running under Windows, but with a bit of skill and creative flair, you can make some rather amazing web applications with ASP.NET. ASP.NET processes all code on the server .When the ASP.NET code has been processed, the server returns the resultant HTML to the client. If the client supports JavaScript, then the server will use it to make the clients browser experience quicker and easier.
Even with HTML being the limiting factor here, ASP.NET still manages to bring true OOP (Object Oriented Programming) to the Internet. Object Oriented Programming makes it possible to build extremely large applications, while still keeping your code clean and structured.

Evolution of the Framework

.Net Framework 1.0 was evolved to.net Framework 4.0 introducing lots of features and new technological aspects attached to it.

ASP.NET MVC framework follows the well-defined MVC pattern to create a web application. MVC design pattern is used to separate the different parts of the application for more scalability, extensibility and testability purposes.

Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), alongside Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), has become part of the primary framework for building the next wave of business applications for the Microsoft Windows operating system. WCF provides the underpinning technology driving distributed solutions based on the Microsoft platform; with it, you can build powerful service-oriented systems designed to address connected services and applications.

Microsoft certification examinations are a measure to validate the developer's talents in each area of technology. Few were mentioned below.

Microsoft Certification in Asp.net development
Microsoft Certification Windows Communication Foundation
Microsoft Certification Developing Enterprise Applications