The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) celebrated its 65th Foundation Day on Monday, unveiling a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening inclusive and digital education across India. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who presided over the event, praised the institution for its pivotal role in shaping India’s education sector.
"I hope NCERT will continue to play an important role in educating students and making India a 'vishwa-guru'...NCERT is focusing on education in different languages," Pradhan told reporters.
The celebrations at NCERT headquarters saw the launch of Bal Vatika - PM eVidya, a DTH channel on No. 35, designed to deliver audio-visual content to teachers, Anganwadi workers, parents, and children aged 3–6 years to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy skills.
DIKSHA 2.0, the upgraded digital learning platform, was also unveiled. It offers structured lessons, adaptive assessments, performance feedback, and AI-enabled tools such as Read Aloud, Closed Captioning, and automatic translation of text files into 12 languages.
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The event further marked the inauguration of NCERT’s new entrance complex on Aurobindo Marg and the launch of primers in Hindi, Sanskrit, Ho-Hindi, and Koya. The PM eVidya mobile app was released as a centralised gateway for digital learning, alongside the introduction of Virtual Reality (VR) labs at four demonstration schools.
NCERT also rolled out PRASHAST 2.0, an enhanced pre-assessment screening tool for early identification of children with disabilities, integrated with UDISE+, APAAR, and Swavlamban Card portals. Another initiative, Kitab Ek Padhe Anek, will create accessible textbooks for inclusive classrooms following universal design principles.
To highlight regional heritage and cultural education, NCERT launched Utkal Jananinkara Sujogya Santana, a book profiling 100 eminent personalities from Odisha who contributed to state development and India’s freedom struggle. The Handbook for Key Functionaries on Vocational Education, released by PSSCIVE, underlined renewed focus on vocational training under NEP 2020.
Senior officials attending the event included Sanjay Kumar, Secretary (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education, former ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, and Chamu Krishna Shastry, Chairman of Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti.
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