Ministry of Human Resource & Development: Government Schemes | Indian Economy for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Ministry of Education Overview

The Ministry of Education (MoE), renamed from the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2020, oversees school and higher education through the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Higher Education. MoE drives NEP 2020 implementation, achieving the 5+3+3+4 schooling structure in 80% of states and adopting the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023 for holistic learning. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts exams like NEET and JEE for 2 crore students, while the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) and National Research Foundation (NRF), established by 2025, enhance quality and research. MoE’s *PM e-Vidya* and *DIKSHA* platforms reach 30 crore students, supported by a ₹1.2 lakh crore budget in 2024–25, prioritizing digital and vocational education.

PM Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN)

PM Poshan Shakti Nirman, formerly the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, renamed in 2021, aims to enhance enrolment, retention, and attendance while improving nutritional levels among children. It targets every child in government and government-aided schools, including pre-primary (Bal Vatika) under NEP 2020, as well as schools under Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS), Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centres, and recognized/unrecognized madarsas/maqtabs supported under *Samagra Shiksha*. By 2025, it benefits 12 crore children with a ₹15,000 crore budget, providing 450 calories and 12–20g protein (primary) and 750 calories and 20–25g protein (upper primary) for a minimum of 200 days, incorporating millets and fortified foods post-2023 International Year of Millets. The scheme addresses classroom hunger, fosters social equity by enabling children from diverse backgrounds to eat together, and improves retention rates, as confirmed by the *National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2024*. The *PM POSHAN Dashboard* ensures real-time monitoring to reduce leakages.

Right to Education (RTE)

The Right to Education Act, 2009, aims to universalize elementary education, narrow gender and social gaps, and increase access to secondary, technical, and higher education. Originally targeting children aged 6–14 years, NEP 2020 extends its scope to 3–18 years, covering pre-primary to secondary education. By 2025, RTE supports 26 crore students via *Samagra Shiksha*, ensuring free and compulsory education, compulsory admission, attendance, and completion of elementary education. It improves the standard of education through infrastructural facilities (95% schools have toilets/drinking water via *Swachh Vidyalaya*), sanctioning new teacher posts, and providing free textbooks. RTE mandates rational deployment of appropriately trained teachers (*NISHTHA 3.0* trains 50 lakh annually), appropriate pupil-teacher ratios, and a curriculum aligned with constitutional values per NCF 2023. It prohibits physical punishment, mental harassment, screening for admission, capitation fees, private tuition by teachers, and running unrecognized schools. RTE supports inclusivity, integrating 50 lakh divyang students, with *NAS 2024* reporting 70% proficiency in foundational literacy.

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

RUSA seeks to improve access, equity, and quality in higher education through planned development at the state level, providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions and enhancing the overall quality of state institutions. It targets higher education and college-going students, achieving a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of ~27% in 2024–25 (*AISHE 2024–25*), up from 19%, with a NEP 2020 target of 50% by 2035. Integrated into *Samagra Shiksha* for higher education, RUSA’s ₹3,000 crore budget in 2024–25 supports transformative reforms, including mandatory accreditation via HECI, promoting autonomy in state universities, improving governance, reforming affiliation and examination systems, ensuring quality faculty, and fostering research and innovation. RUSA’s efforts contribute to IITs and IISc ranking in the top 100 globally (*QS World Rankings 2025*), with *National Credit Framework (NCrF)* and *Academic Bank of Credits (ABC)* enabling flexible learning in 50% of universities.

Digital Gender Atlas

The Digital Gender Atlas helps identify low-performing geographic pockets for girls, particularly from marginalized groups (scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Muslim minorities) and girls with disabilities, on specific gender-related education indicators, focusing on vulnerable girls. Now integrated into *UDISE+* in 2024–25, it benefits girls from these groups by providing a comparative composite index based on quartile ranking at national, state, district, and block levels. Its main components include composite gender ranking, trend analysis of gender indicators, and vulnerabilities based on educational indicators, using map management information system (MMIS) technology for innovative visualization. Accessible via MoE’s *UDISE+* portal, it supports NEP 2020’s inclusivity goals, achieving a Gender Parity Index (GPI) of ~1.0 and 75% female literacy. AI-driven analysis in *UDISE+* enhances targeting, integrated with *Beti Bachao Beti Padhao* for interventions.

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan

Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan aims to connect school-based knowledge to life outside the classroom, making science and mathematics learning joyful and meaningful, inculcating inquiry, experimentation, and creativity, and leveraging non-classroom settings for science, mathematics, and technology learning. It targets students aged 6–18 in government schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, special schools, and special training centres, benefiting 25 crore students under *Samagra Shiksha* in 2024–25 with a ₹500 crore budget. The scheme involves inside and outside classroom activities, with mentoring by institutes like IITs, IIMs, IISERs, and central universities through innovative programmes, student exchanges, demonstrations, and visits to develop a passion for learning. Aligned with NEP’s experiential learning, it integrates with *Atal Tinkering Labs* (10,000+ labs) and *DIKSHA* for digital STEM content, supporting *NAS 2024*’s 70% proficiency in math/science.

ASMITA (All School Monitoring Individual Tracing Analysis)

ASMITA, launched under Shala Asmita Yojana, tracks the educational journey of 26 crore students from Class I to XII across 15 lakh private and government schools, aiming to improve learning outcomes and reduce leakages/corruption in mid-day meals. It benefits students through enhanced education quality and governments by minimizing corruption. Now integrated into *UDISE+* in 2024–25, ASMITA is an online database tracking student attendance, enrolment, learning outcomes, mid-day meal services, and infrastructural facilities, using non-Aadhaar IDs for privacy compliance. The success of the programme depends on states’ participation, with local authorities feeding data daily. ASMITA integrates with the *PM POSHAN Dashboard* and uses AI to predict dropouts, aligning with *NAS 2024*’s 70% proficiency and achieving 90% data accuracy.

Ishan Vikas and Ishan Uday

Ishan Uday provides 20,000 fresh scholarships annually in 2024–25 for college-going students in the eight Northeast states, covering general degree courses, technical, professional, medical, and para-medical courses, with a ₹200 crore budget. Ishan Vikas facilitates internships for select engineering students and visits for Class IX and XI students to 22 premier institutes like IITs, NITs, and IISERs, including virtual options. Both schemes benefit Northeast students by enhancing access to quality education, complementing *Samagra Shiksha* (replacing RUSA). Aligned with *NCrF* for credit-based learning, they offer *DIKSHA*-based modules, supporting regional development and NEP 2020’s inclusivity goals.

Saransh

Saransh aims to analyze students’ performance in Classes IX, X, XI, and XII to take remedial measures and monitor progress, targeting students, CBSE schools, teachers, and parents. Now integrated into *Vidya Samiksha Kendra* in 2024–25, it benefits 26 crore students across all schools. As a comprehensive self-review tool, Saransh enables schools to assess scholastic and co-scholastic performance at aggregate and individual levels, presenting metrics in numbers, charts, and graphs for easy understanding. It allows performance comparisons across India, regions, states, and school categories, fostering communication with parents via a mobile app. AI-driven analytics predict performance, aligning with *NAS 2024*’s 70% proficiency, supporting NEP’s continuous assessment.

Unnat Bharat

Unnat Bharat builds institutional capacity in higher education institutes for research and training relevant to rural India’s needs, providing professional resource support to villages and their populations. With a ₹300 crore budget in 2024–25, it connects institutes like IITs, NITs, and IISERs with 10,000 villages to address development challenges through appropriate technologies, integrated with *Samagra Shiksha*. It aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for rural education, using *DIKSHA* for teacher training, enhancing literacy and infrastructure in rural areas.

Broader Developments

NEP 2020 Implementation

NEP 2020’s 5+3+3+4 schooling structure, multilingual education (50% schools use mother tongue), and vocational training (50% schools) are implemented by 2025. *PM e-Vidya* and *DIKSHA* reach 30 crore students, with *National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR)* enabling edtech interoperability.

Global Engagement

India leads UNESCO’s SDG-4, achieving ~85% secondary GER and hosting the 2023 Global Education Summit. The 2023 G20 presidency shapes global education priorities, influencing 2024–25 policies.

Budget and Economic Survey 2024–25

Education’s ₹1.2 lakh crore budget supports *Samagra Shiksha* (₹40,000 crore), PM POSHAN (₹15,000 crore), and digital initiatives (₹10,000 crore). *Economic Survey 2024–25* notes 80% literacy, 27% higher education GER, and 70% NAS proficiency.