In pursuance of the Government’s vision for ‘Transforming India’, MHRD took a leap forward in transforming the education sector.
Department of Higher Education of the Ministry has released a five-year vision plan named Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusive Programme (EQUIP).
SWAYAM 2.0, Deeksharambh and PARAMARSH are some of the major schemes of this department.

Major reforms taken to reform education sector in India:

NISHTHA: A National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA – National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement was launched.
It aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh teachers and heads of school, faculty members of SERCTs and DIETs, Block Resource Coordinators e.t.c

DHRUV : The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) was launched to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
The programme Dhurv will act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining and meritorious students, and help them achieve excellence in their specific area of interest such as science, performing arts, creative writing e.t.c.

Shagun: One of World’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education ‘Shagun’ is an over-arching initiative to improve school education system by creating a junction for all online portals and websites relating to various activities of the Department of School Education and Literacy.
Report cards of 15 lakh schools all over the country will be available on the newly created junction.
Common people can directly give their feedback about schools which will further increase the public participation and will ensure accountability and transparency.

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+):

To ensure quality, credibility and timely availability of information from all the schools in the country, the revamped UDISE+ has been launched. The GIS based mapping portals give information about location of more than 15 lakh schools in the country along with some silent highlights.
The Data Analytics portal gives information about the aggregate position of the school.

Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) 2.0:

DIKSHA portal was launched in 2017 for providing digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community.

This programme has tried to improve the content for the teachers concerned and more than 67000 of content pieces have been hosted on DIKSHA and more than 10.5 crore scams.
Operation Digital Board (ODB): The aim is to provide by March 2023, two smart classrooms for every Secondary/Senior Secondary schools in 101967 Government and 42917 aided schools in all states and UTs in allStates/UTs and 1704 KVs and NVs making a total of 1,46,588 schools.

Other key Reforms in Higher Education

Five-year vision plan ‘Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme’ (EQUIP)
EQUIP is a vision plan aiming at ushering transformation in India’s higher education system by implementing strategic interventions in the sector over five years (2019-24).

Institution of Eminence (IoE) : Ten institutions in public sector and 10 institutions in private sector have to be declared as IoE. Each IoE will be eligible to receive Rs. 1000 crore during next 5 years.

SWAYAM 2.0 : It is initiated with enhanced features and facilities to offer online degree programmes through SWAYAM by top ranking universities.

SWAYAM PRABHA – DTH Educational Channels :It is a project to telecast high-quality educational programs through 32 DTH channels on 24/7 basis to reach out to students/learners of India with wide reach and minimal cost.
It also aims to provide dedicated channels ‘IITPAL’ to assist the students of XI and XII standards aspiring to join premier educational institutions in the country.

Implementation of Quality Improvement Programme

Deeksharambh : A guide to Student Induction Programme has been launched. Total 319 HEIs have implemented the Student Induction Programme.
Learning outcomes based curriculum framework (LOCF) revision: New Curriculum in 16 subjects which is based on LOCF has been uploaded on UGC website to facilitate universities to revise the curriculum.
Scheme for Trans -disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE) – Launched for promoting quality research by faculty and creation of new knowledge.
PARAMARSH – A scheme to mentor institutions seeking National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation.