Kolkata The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will turn India into a global knowledge hub where IITs will play a crucial role, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.

IITs will not just be 'centres of learning' but 'centres of nation building', he said while addressing the 71st foundation day programme of IIT Kharagpur on virtual mode.

"The NEP 2020, which has completed one year, is aimed at realising the vision of accessibility and equality in education. As more youths aspire to pursue technical education, we ensure none is deprived due to lack of proficiency in English," Pradhan said.

The NEP 2020 will break barriers and revolutionise the way technical education is imparted to the deserving candidates, the minister said.

The minister said that some engineering colleges across the country will impart technical education in widely used regional languages for those not wishing to study in English. Stating that IIT Kharagpur is embodying objectives of the NEP, he urged its authorities to prioritise goals of excellence, with the greater goal to turn it from a 'Centre of Learning' to a 'Centre of nation building'.

Pradhan said as India entered 75th Independence only a few days back, it is a pleasure that "we are celebrating the 71st foundation day of IIT Kharagpur."

Initially, the IIT started functioning from 5, Esplanade East, Kolkata, and very soon shifted to Hijli in undivided Medinipur district in 1950. The present name 'Indian Institute of Technology' was adopted before the formal inauguration of the institute on August 18, 1951, by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Education Secretary Amit Khare, who also addressed the programme virtually, said that while IIT Kharagpur is the oldest IIT in terms of age, it happens to be the youngest in terms of new technology and initiatives."From engineering to management school, law school and very soon a medical science institute, IIT Kharagpur has fully explored the potential of a multidisciplinary learning," he said. IIT Kharagpur Director V K Tewari, who was present at the auditorium in the campus where a small number of people from the institute were present, said in reply to Khare that the medical college of the institute will come up in November.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Education Dr Subhas Sarkar said at Santiniketan in Birbhum district that brain drain from India should be stopped."Now the situation in our country is favourable to meritorious students. Those who are receiving education abroad should return to India and work here," Sarkar said at Visva-Bharati university where he is felicitated.

Later he told reporters that the West Bengal government will have to implement the NEP 2020 in days to come.