On August 17, 2020, In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of article 77 of the Constitution, President Ram Nath Kovind amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 by Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Fifty Sixth Amendment Rules, 2020, thereby, changing the name of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as Ministry of Education.
- This renaming of ministry was among the key recommendations of the draft new National Education Policy (NEP), which was also cleared by the Union Cabinet in July 2020.
Background:
The Ministry of Education was renamed as the HRD ministry in 1985 while NEP was introduced in 1986 and it was later amended in 1992.
- Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao was the first HRD Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet.
- A panel headed by former ISRO chairman Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, tasked with working on the new NEP had first proposed that the name of the ministry should be changed again. The idea for the sae was also mooted by Ram Bahadur Rai, chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in 2018.
Recent Related News:
On July 29, 2020, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the first education policy of the 21st century i.e. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which has replaced 34 years old NPE, 1986. The policy proposes to increase investment in education to reach 6% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
About Ministry of Education:
Union Minister– Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
Minister of State (MoS)– Sanjay Dhotre
