New Delhi: On the day Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India in May 2014, he hinted at a revival of reforms in the education sector. Be it primary education or higher education, the education sector has become a key pillar of India’s development agenda. The Modi government has not only introduced reforms to make education more accessible but has also played a significant role in nurturing the skills of youth to perform better in the job market. The government has worked tirelessly to overhaul outdated systems at the school level, in addition to promoting digital learning. On the occasion of Prime Minister Modi’s 75th birthday, let’s take a look at six major education reforms that are having a lasting impact on India’s future.

In a move to modernise India’s education system, the Modi government rolled out the National Education Policy (NEP) on July 29, 2020. The policy aimed at all levels of the education system, starting from pre-school to PhD, by keeping its roots in the Indian ethos. The NEP 2020, which was framed by a high-powered committee led by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, was only the third education policy since independence. The policy focuses mainly on promoting India’s traditional knowledge, mother tongue learning and internationalisation of the education system.

The BJP-led government, headed by PM Modi, heavily invested in the revival of textbooks. The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has undertaken more than three rounds of revisions in school textbooks in the past decade.

The Modi government has liberalised higher education policies and encouraged foreign universities to set up campuses in the country. According to the sources, a total of five foreign universities are in the advanced stages of setting up a campus in the country under the UGC’s 2023 regulations. The University of Southampton has established its first campus in India at Gurgaon. In May 2025, the University of Liverpool became the second UK university to set up its first Indian campus in Bengaluru.

Be it IITs or IIMs, there has been a huge growth in establishing new higher education institutions since 2014. As per the sources, a total of seven new IITs, IIMs and 15 new AIIMs have been set up since 2014. Interestingly, the premier education institutes are established in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

In a move to accelerate digital learning in the country, the Modi government has launched DIKSHA in 2017, SWAYAM in 2017, and PM eVIDYA in 2020. The DIKSHA app is a digital learning platform for students, teachers, and parents that provides curriculum-aligned resources. The PM e-VIDYA will facilitate students and teachers to access digital/online teaching-learning contents of various types. As of now, there are 200 PM eVidya TV channels to provide supplementary education for classes 1 to 12.