Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended a ceremony to hand over a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the University of Liverpool. He spoke about India’s big plans for education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Currently, India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is around 26–27%. The NEP aims to raise it to 50% within five years. India has 300 million students, of whom 40 million are in higher education, supported by more than 1,200 universities and 50,000 colleges.

Pradhan linked education to national growth when he noted that India is the world’s fourth-largest economy and has a target—set by Prime Minister Modi—to become a developed nation by 2047. To achieve this, he said, India must fully implement NEP 2020, which promotes global engagement rather than working in isolation.

The NEP was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 29, 2020, replacing the old 1986 policy. It brought many positive changes. One key change allows students to choose any language they wish to learn; no one will be forced into a particular language. This decision follows extensive analysis and feedback from various stakeholders.