How NEP 2020 Is Crafting India's Knowledge Renaissance

What if the future of science was written in Sanskrit? What if a young scholar from a forest gurukul debated quantum mechanics with a PhD from IIT? And what if India's spiritual heritage was not an echo of the past but a blueprint for innovation?

For centuries, India was known as a cradle of knowledge, where rishis decoded the cosmos and philosophers debated ethics under banyan trees. But somewhere along the way, colonial hangovers and rigid systems forced Indian education into narrow alleys of rote learning and elitist exclusion. Now, a tectonic shift is underway. The question is not whether we are changing, but whether we are changing fast enough.

The Setubandha Vidwan Yojana may well be India's boldest educational leap in a century. In an unprecedented move, the government has opened the hallowed gates of IITs to students from traditional gurukuls. No formal degrees. No rigid certificates. Only demonstrable mastery of Shastras, philosophy, or ancient sciences backed by rigorous traditional learning. Under this scheme, scholars from classical knowledge backgrounds will be offered fellowships of up to Rs.65,000 per month across 18 interdisciplinary domains, ranging from Ayurveda and cognitive science to architecture, astronomy, political theory and performing arts.

This initiative is not a one-off gesture. It is the crystallization of a larger civilizational vision laid out in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. A policy not just authored, but envisioned, with India's soul in mind.

When NEP was released in 2020, it was not merely an administrative document. It was an ideological declaration. It declared war on mediocrity, memorization, and marginalization. It invited children to learn in their mother tongue, reimagined early education as play-based discovery, and championed multi-lingualism not as a challenge, but as a cognitive strength.

Five years on, the vision is quietly but visibly reshaping India. The Nipun Bharat Mission has shown that foundational literacy and numeracy by Class 2 is not a dream, but a deliverable. The success of initiatives like Vidya Pravesh, Balvatika integration, and the launch of Jaadui Pitara content in 22 Indian languages have re-anchored learning in language, culture, and curiosity.

In classrooms, the air is changing. Children experiment with vocational skills in Class 6. Teachers, over 14 lakh of them, have been empowered through Nishtha training. Platforms like DIKSHA now provide accessible, high-quality learning resources to every corner of India. Inclusion is no longer a policy footnote: it is a national priority. Through schemes like Samagra Shiksha and PM Poshan, India has achieved near-universal enrolment. More than 7.12 lakh girls from marginalized communities now study in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. Prashast has ensured disability screening becomes a routine, not an exception.

Higher education is scripting its own revolution. Gross enrolment has surged from 3.42 crore to 4.46 crore. Women form nearly 48% of all students. In a historic first, female enrolment in PhDs has doubled. Students from SC, ST, OBC and minority communities are no longer outliers, but core stakeholders.

Flexibility is the new foundation. Multiple entry and exit options, the Academic Bank of Credits, 21.12 crore APAAR IDs, and the National Credit Framework have made learning modular, adaptive, and mobile. Over 153 universities now offer flexible degrees. Learning is now aligned with life, not just exams.

Innovation and research, once the privilege of elite labs, have been democratized. India has climbed from 81st to 39th in the Global Innovation Index. More than 18,000 startups have been incubated across 400 higher education institutions. PMRF 2.0, the Anusandhan NRF, and the ‘One Nation One Subscription’ model are catalyzing a decentralized, inclusive research culture.

Digital inclusion is no longer a vision, it is reality. Platforms like Swayam, Swayam Plus, PM e-Vidya and DIKSHA have recorded more than 5.3 crore learners. With 200 DTH channels, education is no longer a metro privilege.

In global academia, India is rising. In 2014, just 11 Indian institutions featured in the QS World Rankings. By 2026, that number rose to 54. International universities like Deakin, Wollongong and Southampton are setting up campuses in India. Education is no longer a pipeline to brain drain, but a magnet for global knowledge.

At the heart of this revolution are 14,500 PM Shri schools redefining pedagogy and infrastructure. The Vidyanjali platform has brought together 8.2 lakh schools, 5.3 lakh volunteers and 2,000 CSR partners, directly impacting 1.7 crore students.

From the Setubandha Vidwan Yojana to the National Digital Depository of Indian Knowledge Systems, from the Prerna bridge curriculum to the Bhartiya Bhasha Pustak Yojana, NEP is no longer just a policy document. It is a national movement.

But in this movement, some questions must persist:

• Will we support this transformation with sustained investment and societal trust?
• Will our institutions rise to match the vision with execution?
• Will we allow India to become the first modern nation where ancient wisdom meets artificial intelligence?

In a time of rapid disruption, NEP reminds us that true education is not about survival. It's about civilization.

And that perhaps, the greatest revolution is not in changing what we learn, but in remembering who we are.