National Education Policy reshaping India’s learning ecosystem, says PM Modi

Highlighting the transformation underway in India’s education landscape, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on April 29, said that the National Education Policy (NEP) has sparked wide-ranging reforms across the sector.

Speaking at the ‘Uniting Academia, Industry, and Innovators for Viksit Bharat (YUGM)’ conclave—hosted jointly by the Union Education Ministry and Wadhwani Foundation in New Delhi—he outlined key initiatives already in motion.

He noted that frameworks and resources such as the National Curriculum Framework and new learning materials, including textbooks for Classes 1 to 7, have already been rolled out.

“Under PM e-Vidya and the DIKSHA platform, a ‘One Nation, One Digital Education Infrastructure’ has been created. This infrastructure is AI-based and scalable. It is being used to prepare textbooks in over 30 Indian languages and seven foreign languages,” Modi said.

The PM also emphasized the role of the National Credit Framework in expanding academic flexibility.

Students can now pursue multiple disciplines at once, gain access to modern education, and explore new career opportunities.

Over the past decade, he said, the country has made strong strides in building a more robust research ecosystem, supported by increased investment and institutional support.

“In 2013–14, the gross expenditure on research and development was only ₹60,000 crore. We have more than doubled it to over ₹1.25 lakh crore. Several state-of-the-art research parks have been established across the country. Research and Development Cells have been set up in about 6,000 higher education institutions. Because of these efforts, a culture of innovation is growing rapidly in the country,” Modi said.

He further noted a sharp rise in the number of patents—from around 40,000 in 2014 to more than 80,000 today—crediting this to the stronger support system for intellectual property in India.

“This shows how much support the country’s youth are getting from our intellectual property ecosystem. To further promote research culture, the National Research Foundation has been established with a budget of ₹50,000 crore,” he said.

“The ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ initiative has reassured young people that the government understands their needs. This scheme has made access to world-class research journals easier for students pursuing higher education,” he added.

Modi also pointed to the introduction of the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship as a measure to ensure that promising scholars can pursue advanced studies without obstacles.