The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, lays emphasis on improving the overall quality of education in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through a set of initiatives that include promotion of multidisciplinary education, nurturing critical thinking and analytical ability, promoting research and innovation, improving the quality of infrastructure, effective and qualitative teacher training etc.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was launched in 2015 by the Government of India for the annual ranking of institutions/universities of higher education in India (called India Rankings), to promote a healthy competition among educational institutes and universities. The methodology of these rankings is based on five broad parameters which are “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Peer Perception”. The number of applications received under NIRF increased from 6,272 in 2021 to 14,163 in 2025. The number of unique institutions participating in NIRF increased from 4,030 to 7,692 during 2021-2025.

Since the launch of NIRF, there has been an increase in the number of institutions appearing in the QS World University Rankings. It has increased from 11 institutions in QS WUR 2015 to 52 in QS WUR 2027.

To improve Quality of Education, several initiatives have been institutionalised in Centrally Funded Institutions. Government of India also provides financial support to State Governments under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)/ Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM USHA) scheme under three components namely, “Enhancing Quality and Excellence in select State Universities”, “Infrastructure Grants to Universities” and “MultiDisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU)” for improvement in Higher Education.

Further, World Class Institutions Scheme, also known as Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme was launched in 2017 to create distinct category of institutions with great deal of autonomy in academic, administrative and financial matters so as to enable them to emerge as World Class Academic and Research Institutions in a reasonable time period.

The Government of India has established 43 new premier institutes since 2014 which include seven IIT’s, eight Central universities and 9 IIM’s. Most recently, IIM Guwahati was inaugurated in February 2026 as the 22nd IIM. The institute is currently operating from its transit campus in Kamrup district, Assam. To support its development, the government has allocated Rs 555 crores for setting up the temporary campus, initiating construction of the permanent facility, and ensuring smooth operations during its first five years.

Further, the Government of India has approved expansion of academic and infrastructure capacity including creation of Research Park of five new IITs which had been established in the State/UT of Andhra Pradesh (IIT Tirupati), Kerala (IIT Palakkad), Chhattisgarh (IIT Bhilai), Jammu & Kashmir (IIT Jammu) and Karnataka (IIT Dharwad) with a total outlay of Rs. 11,828.79 crore in May, 2025.

To promote skill-integrated education with industry requirements in schools and colleges, several initiatives have been undertaken by Ministry of Education including: 

• To upgrade school curricula, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), has developed resources for computational thinking and AI Curriculum for both teachers and students from grade 3 to 8. 
• To develop the capacity of teachers in leveraging technology, focused efforts have been made by NCERT in organising training activities on AI, covering more than 96,000 beneficiaries through these programs. Similarly, CBSE organises capacity building programmes to sensitise teachers to the application of AI tools in teaching, learning, and assessment, as well as their relevance in educational management and administration. In the last 3 years, 1,234 programmes have been conducted, benefitting 64,775 teachers of CBSE affiliated schools.
• UGC has also introduced “Guidelines for Internship/Research Internship for Under Graduate Students”, to improve employability, develop interest for research and provide exposure to emerging technologies.
• Further, UGC has formulated the “Guidelines for Higher Educational Institutions to Offer Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP)” to embed the competencies required by the industry in the university curriculum. 
• To enhance employability of the students, the National Credit Framework (NCrF) has been issued by UGC, enabling integration of skill education into academia, having a provision for the accumulation of a maximum of 50% of the total credit required through skill-based courses.
• AICTE periodically revises its Model Curriculum in consultation with academia, industry, professional bodies, and Institutions of National Importance to ensure alignment with industry requirements and technological advancements like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science (DS), Machine Learning (ML), Cyber Security, Robotics, Quantum Computing, and other emerging technologies across technical disciplines. 
• AICTE is actively strengthening skill development by embedding it into technical education. It partners with industries and institutions to offer online skill courses aligned with the regular curriculum, along with skill-focused programmes, compulsory internships, and vocational degrees. 
• AICTE has made Internships an integral component of technical education to provide students with practical industry exposure and enhance employability. 
• The Ministry of Education implements the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) to impart on-the-job training in collaboration with industry to enhance the employability of youth.
• Further, to strengthen industry-academia linkages and enhance learners' employability, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with eminent industry partners, has launched the SWAYAM Plus platform. The platform offers more than 500 employability-focused courses across 15 sectors in collaboration with 89 industries.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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