Which of the following Programmes/Schemes is/are NOT included in meeting the objectives of National Education Policy 2020 ? 1. ULLAS 2. DIKSHA 3. Bharat Nirman Programme Select the correct answer from the code given below : Code :
- (a)1 and 2
- (b)1 and 3
- (c)Only 3
- (d)Only 1
Correct — C, Only 3, the Bharat Nirman Programme. Bharat Nirman, launched in 2005, was a time-bound rural INFRASTRUCTURE plan run through the Ministry of Rural Development, built around six physical heads — irrigation, rural roads, rural housing, rural drinking water supply, rural electrification and rural telephony. It carries no education component at all, so it is the one item on this list that has nothing to do with the National Education Policy 2020. The other two do. ULLAS — 'Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society', also called Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram or the New India Literacy Programme — is the Ministry of Education's adult-literacy scheme approved for the financial years 2022 to 2027, and it is explicitly aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020; its mobile app was launched on the third anniversary of the Policy. DIKSHA, the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing, is the Ministry of Education's national digital platform for school education and is the main channel through which NEP 2020's push for technology-enabled, equitable access to learning is delivered. Note the negative framing: the question asks which is NOT included.
- (a)1 and 2 — This excludes ULLAS and DIKSHA from the NEP 2020 effort, but both are Ministry of Education initiatives that serve it directly — ULLAS is the Policy's adult-literacy and lifelong-learning vehicle for the 2022-27 period, and DIKSHA is the national digital platform through which school e-content and teacher training reach students across states and boards. It also leaves Bharat Nirman, the one genuine outsider, inside the Policy.
- (b)1 and 3 — Half right: Bharat Nirman is indeed outside the Policy. But adding ULLAS is wrong — ULLAS is an NEP-2020 scheme, approved for FYs 2022-27 and aligned with the Policy's recommendations on adult education and lifelong learning, with a target of five crore learners aged 15 and above.
- (d)Only 1 — This picks ULLAS as the outsider, usually because its name is the least familiar of the three. In fact ULLAS is the flagship adult-literacy scheme built on NEP 2020's adult-education and lifelong-learning recommendations, and its app was launched on the Policy's third anniversary. Bharat Nirman, a rural infrastructure programme, is the item that does not belong.
The National Education Policy 2020 was approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 July 2020 and replaced the National Policy on Education of 1986 (as modified in 1992); its drafting committee was chaired by Dr K. Kasturirangan. A policy by itself changes nothing — each of its goals is carried by a named programme, so the examinable skill is matching goal to vehicle. Adult literacy and lifelong learning are carried by ULLAS; technology-enabled access to school content is carried by DIKSHA; foundational literacy and numeracy in the early school years is carried by NIPUN Bharat. Anything not run by the Ministry of Education is almost certainly outside this set.
Two filters solve this in seconds. First, the ministry filter: ULLAS and DIKSHA are Ministry of Education programmes, Bharat Nirman was a Ministry of Rural Development programme — a different ministry means a different policy universe. Second, the date filter: NEP 2020 is from 2020, and Bharat Nirman dates from 2005, fifteen years earlier, so it could not have been designed to meet objectives that did not yet exist. The trap is the reverse framing — the question asks for what is NOT included, and a candidate reading quickly will mark the two that ARE.
- NEP 2020 was approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 July 2020, replacing the National Policy on Education of 1986 (as modified in 1992); the drafting committee was chaired by Dr K. Kasturirangan
- ULLAS stands for 'Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society' and is also called Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram or the New India Literacy Programme; it is a Ministry of Education scheme for FYs 2022-27 that aligns with NEP 2020's recommendations
- ULLAS targets five crore learners aged 15 and above in foundational literacy and numeracy over 2022-27, and has five components — foundational literacy and numeracy, critical life skills, basic education, vocational skills and continuing education
- DIKSHA, the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing, is the Ministry of Education's national digital platform for school education, launched in 2017, carrying e-content for students and teachers across states and boards
- Bharat Nirman, launched in 2005 under the Ministry of Rural Development, covered six rural infrastructure heads — irrigation, roads, housing, drinking water supply, electrification and telephony — and had no education component
Two are Ministry of Education programmes built around NEP 2020; Bharat Nirman is rural infrastructure from 2005 — so the answer to 'which is NOT included' is (c) Only 3.
- Reading the question as 'which ARE included' — it asks for the exception, and the two education schemes are the wrong marks
- Assuming a Hindi-titled scheme must be social-sector or educational; Bharat Nirman is purely rural infrastructure
- Confusing ULLAS with the earlier adult-literacy efforts — the National Literacy Mission and Saakshar Bharat — which it succeeded in 2022
UPPSC likes the 'which of these is NOT part of X' scheme-basket format, mixing two genuine members with one outsider from a different ministry; UPSC tests the same knowledge by asking which ministry runs a scheme, or what a named platform is built on.
Consider the following statements in respect of welfare schemes launched by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India: 1. Drinking water for rural areas is one of the components of the Bharat Nirman Plan. 2. In the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 there is a provision that the statutory minimum wage applicable to agriculture workers in the State has to be paid to the workers under the Act. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(c) Both 1 and 2
Establishes exactly what this question turns on — that Bharat Nirman is a rural infrastructure plan whose components are things like rural drinking water, run through the Ministry of Rural Development. Knowing that settles item 3 immediately.
Consider the following: 1. Aarogya Setu 2. CoWIN 3. DigiLocker 4. DIKSHA Which of the above are built on top of open-source digital platforms?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (c) 1, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Puts DIKSHA in front of the student as a named Government of India digital platform in the school-education stack, which is precisely the recognition item 2 requires. UPSC probes it from the technology side (open-source foundations), UPPSC from the policy side.
Consider the following statements about New National Education Policy approved by Union Cabinet of India on 29th July, 2020 : 1. It was drafted by a Committee headed by Dr. K. Kasturirangan. 2. It will replace the previous Education Policy which has been followed since last 38 years. Select the correct statement(s) from the codes given below. Codes :
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) 1 only
The same policy, asked five years earlier and from the front end — who drafted NEP 2020 and what it replaced. Read together, the pair covers the Policy's origin (2020, Kasturirangan committee, replacing the 1986 policy) and its delivery vehicles (ULLAS, DIKSHA).
- practice — not a real PYQ
ULLAS — Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram is implemented by which Ministry?
- (a)Ministry of Rural Development
- (b)Ministry of Education
- (c)Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
- (d)Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Answer(b) Ministry of Education — it is the adult-literacy scheme for learners aged 15 and above who missed formal schooling, approved for FYs 2022-27.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following was NOT a component of the Bharat Nirman programme?
- (a)Rural roads
- (b)Rural drinking water supply
- (c)Rural electrification
- (d)Adult literacy
Answer(d) Adult literacy — Bharat Nirman covered six rural infrastructure heads only: irrigation, roads, housing, drinking water, electrification and telephony.