# Ministry of Education (India)

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The ministry is further divided into two departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with university level education, technical education, scholarships, etc.
The current education minister is Dharmendra Pradhan, a member of the Council of Ministers. India had a Ministry of Education since 1947. In 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government changed its name to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), and with the newly drafted "National Education Policy 2020" by the Narendra Modi government, the Ministry of Human Resource Development was renamed back to the Ministry of Education.

## Policy

The new National Education Policy 2020 was passed on 29 July 2020 by the Union Council of Ministers. The NEP 2020 replaced the existing National Policy on Education 1986. Under the NEP 2020, the name of the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) was changed to Ministry of Education (MoE). Numerous new educational institutes, bodies and concepts were legislated under NEP 2020.

## Department of School Education and Literacy

The Department of School Education and Literacy is responsible for the development of school education and literacy in the country.
* Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
* Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA)
* Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS)
* National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
* National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)
* National Foundation for Teachers' Welfare
* National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
* Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS)
* Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)
* Bharatiya Shiksha Board (BSB)

## Department of Higher Education

The Department of Higher Education is in charge of secondary and post-secondary education. The department is empowered to grant deemed university status to educational institutions on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India, under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. The Department of Higher Education takes care of one of the largest higher education systems of the world, just after the United States and China. The department is engaged in bringing world-class opportunities for higher education and research to the country so that Indian students are not found lacking when facing an international platform. For this, the government has launched joint ventures and signed MoUs to help the Indian students benefit from world opinion. The technical education system in the country can be broadly classified into three categories – Central Government-funded institutions, State Government/State-funded institutions and Self-financed institutions. The 122 Centrally funded institution of technical and science education are as under: List of centrally funded technical institutions: IIITs (26), IITs (23), IIMs (20), IISc Bangalore, IISERs (7 – Berhampur, Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati), NITs (31), NITTTRs (4), and 9 others (SPA, ISMU, NERIST, SLIET, IIEST, NITIE & NIFFT, CIT).

### Organisational structure

The department is divided into eight bureaus, and most of the work of the department is handled through over 100 autonomous organisations under these bureaus.

#### University and Higher Education; Minorities Education

* University Grants Commission (UGC)
* Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
* Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)
* Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR)
* 56 Central university (India) as on 11.09.2021 list issued by University Grants Commission

#### Technical Education

* All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE)
* Council of Architecture (COA)
* 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
* 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs)
* 26 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
* Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST)
* 21 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
* Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
* Foundation for Science Innovation and Development, IISc is a Section 8 Company under the Companies Act, 2013.
* 7 Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
* North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST)
* National Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (NIAFT)
* 4 National Institutes of Technical Teachers' Training & Research (NITTTRs) (Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai and Kolkata)
* 4 Regional Boards of Apprenticeship / Practical Training
* 3 School of Planning and Architecture (SPAs)

#### Administration and Languages
##### Three Deemed Universities in the field of Sanskrit, viz.

* Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (RSkS) in New Delhi,
* Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (SLBSRSV) New Delhi,
* Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (RSV) Tirupati

### Other Agencies

* Kendriya Hindi Sansthan (KHS), Agra
* English and Foreign Language University (EFLU), Hyderabad
* National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL)
* Central Universities of India
* Gandhigram Rural University (GRI)
* National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL)
* Three subordinate offices: Central Hindi Directorate (CHD), New Delhi; Commission for Scientific & Technological Terminology (CSTT), New Delhi; and Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore
* Distance Education and Scholarships
** Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
* UNESCO, International Cooperation, Book Promotion and Copyrights, Education Policy, Planning and Monitoring
* Integrated Finance Division.
* Statistics, Annual Plan and CMIS
* Administrative Reform, North Eastern Region, SC/ST/OBC
* National Testing Agency(NTA)
* National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA)
* National Book Trust (NBT)
* National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
* National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI)
* National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
* Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS)
* National Academic Depository (NAD)
* National Bal Bhawan

### Objectives

The main objectives of the ministry are:
* To conduct assessments that are efficient, transparent, and meet international standards. These assessments are used to evaluate candidates for admission and recruitment.
* Formulating the National Policy on Education and to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit
* Planned development, including expanding access and improving the quality of the educational institutions throughout the country, including in regions where people do not have easy access to education.
* Paying special attention to disadvantaged groups like the poor, females and minorities
* Provide financial help in the form of scholarships, loan subsidies, etc. to deserving students from deprived sections of the society.
* Encouraging international cooperation in the field of education, including working closely with UNESCO and foreign governments as well as Universities, to enhance the educational opportunities in the country.

## MoE's Innovation Cell (MIC)

MoE's Innovation Cell, was established in August 2018 by the ministry at All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to systematically foster the culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and startups in all major Higher Education Institutions in India. Abhay Jere was appointed as first Chief Innovation Officer.

### Major initiatives of MIC

* Smart India Hackathon (SIH)
* Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)
* Institution's Innovation Council (IICs)
* National Innovation and Start-up Policy for Students and Faculties in HEIs (NISP)
* Innovation Ambassadors Program
* MBA/PGDM program in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Development (IEV)

## National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

In April 2016, Ministry of Human Resource Development published the first list of rankings of Indian colleges under National Institutional Ranking Framework. The entire ranking exercise involved NBA, All India Council for Technical Education, UGC, Thomson Reuters, Elsevier and INFLIBNET (Information & Library Network) centre. The ranking framework was launched in September 2015. All 122 centrally-funded institutions – including all central universities, IITs and IIMs – participated in the first round of ranking.

## List of ministers

The minister of education, formerly the minister of human resources development (1985–2020), is the head of the Ministry of Education and one of the cabinet ministers of the Government of India.
| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Prime Minister | Party |
| 1 | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | 15 August 1947 | 22 February 1958 | 10 years, 160 days | Jawaharlal Nehru | Indian National Congress |
| 2 | K. L. Shrimali | 22 February 1958 | 31 August 1963 | 5 years, 221 days | Jawaharlal Nehru | Indian National Congress |
| 3 | Humayun Kabir | 1 September 1963 | 21 November 1963 | 81 days | Jawaharlal Nehru | Indian National Congress |
| 4 | M. C. Chagla | 21 November 1963 | 13 November 1966 | 2 years, 357 days | Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 14 November 1966 | 13 March 1967 | 119 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 6 | Triguna Sen | 16 March 1967 | 14 February 1969 | 1 year, 335 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 7 | V. K. R. V. Rao | 14 February 1969 | 18 March 1971 | 2 years, 32 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 8 | Siddhartha Shankar Ray | 18 March 1971 | 20 March 1972 | 1 year, 2 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 9 | S. Nurul Hasan | 24 March 1972 | 24 March 1977 | 5 years, 0 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 10 | Pratap Chandra Chunder | 26 March 1977 | 28 July 1979 | 2 years, 124 days | Morarji Desai | Janata Party |
| 11 | Karan Singh | 30 July 1979 | 14 January 1980 | 168 days | Charan Singh | Indian National Congress (Urs) |
| 12 | B. Shankaranand | 14 January 1980 | 17 October 1980 | 277 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 13 | Shankarrao Chavan | 17 October 1980 | 8 August 1981 | 295 days | Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 14 | Sheila Kaul | 10 August 1981 | 31 December 1984 | 3 years, 143 days | Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 15 | K. C. Pant | 31 December 1984 | 25 September 1985 | 268 days | Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 16 | P. V. Narasimha Rao (Minister of Human Resource Development) | 25 September 1985 | 25 June 1988 | 2 years, 274 days | Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 17 | P. Shiv Shankar | 25 June 1988 | 2 December 1989 | 1 year, 160 days | Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress |
| 18 | V. P. Singh | 2 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 | 343 days | V. P. Singh | Janata Dal (National Front) |
| 19 | Raj Mangal Pande | 21 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | 212 days | Chandra Shekhar | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) |
| 20 | Arjun Singh | 23 June 1991 | 24 December 1994 | 3 years, 184 days | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Indian National Congress |
| (16) | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 25 December 1994 | 9 February 1995 | 47 days | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 21 | Madhavrao Scindia | 10 February 1995 | 17 January 1996 | 341 days | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Indian National Congress |
| (16) | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 17 January 1996 | 16 May 1996 | 120 days | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Indian National Congress |
| 22 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | 16 days | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 23 | S. R. Bommai | 5 June 1996 | 19 March 1998 | 1 year, 287 days | H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral | Janata Dal |
| 24 | Murli Manohar Joshi | 19 March 1998 | 22 May 2004 | 6 years, 64 days | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| (20) | Arjun Singh | 22 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | 5 years, 0 days | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| 25 | Kapil Sibal | 29 May 2009 | 29 October 2012 | 3 years, 153 days | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| 26 | M. M. Pallam Raju | 30 October 2012 | 26 May 2014 | 1 year, 208 days | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| 27 | Smriti Irani | 26 May 2014 | 5 July 2016 | 2 years, 40 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 28 | Prakash Javadekar | 5 July 2016 | 30 May 2019 | 2 years, 329 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 29 | Ramesh Pokhriyal | 30 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | 2 years, 38 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 30 | Dharmendra Pradhan | 7 July 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years, 251 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |

## List of Ministers of State

Ministers of State in the Ministry of Education :
| Minister of state | Term | Term | Term | Prime Minister | Political Party |
| Renuka Devi Barkataki | 1977 | 1979 | 2 years | Morarji Desai | Janata Party |
| Ram Shankar Katheria | 9 November 2014 | 5 July 2016 | 1 year, 239 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Mahendra Nath Pandey | 5 July 2016 | 3 September 2017 | 1 year, 60 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Upendra Kushwaha | 9 November 2014 | 11 December 2018 | 4 years, 32 days | Narendra Modi | Rashtriya Lok Samta Party |
| Satya Pal Singh | 3 September 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 1 year, 269 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Sanjay Dhotre (Minister of State For Education from 29 July 2020 onwards) | 31 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | 2 years, 37 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Subhas Sarkar | 8 July 2021 | 11 June 2024 | 2 years, 339 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | 8 July 2021 | 11 June 2024 | 2 years, 339 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Annpurna Devi | 8 July 2021 | 11 June 2024 | 2 years, 339 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Sukanta Majumdar | 11 June 2024 | Incumbent | 277 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Jayant Chaudhary | 11 June 2024 | Incumbent | 277 days | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |