India

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India is the largest Commonwealth country, with a population of over 1.4 billion (World Bank, 2022).

COL works in many programme areas in India — girls’ and women’s education and training, lifelong learning for farmers, open schooling, higher education, technology-enabled learning and skills for work – with its regional centre, the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA), based in New Delhi. Learners from India are also participating in COL’s free, open online courses and benefitting from other available resources.

Highlights

  • 2,400 rural weavers and artisans trained in digital and financial literacy, digital marketing, and data management throughout India.
  • CEMCA collaborated with various Sector Skill Councils in India to enhance their courses and transform textual content into multi-media formats.
  • 66,673 learners from India have enrolled with 16,985 certificates being issued through the Skills Online programme.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in India include:

  • Ministry of Education
  • 21CC Education
  • Amity University
  • Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Academy (APITA)
  • Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank (APCOB)
  • Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE)
  • Anvarat Foundation
  • Arrupe Centre for Policy Research (ACPR)
  • Association of Indian Universities (AIU)
  • Automotive Skills Development Council
  •  Bhartiya Skill Development University (BSDU)
  • Capital Goods Skill Council (CGSC)
  • Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET)
  • Central University of Himachal Pradesh
  • Centre for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL)
  • Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
  • Community Radio Stations
  • CSC e-Governance Services India Limited
  • Department of Women and Child Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
  • Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)
  • Domestic Worker Sector Skill Council (DWSSC)
  • Dr B.R. Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU)
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU)
  • Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
  • Furniture and Fitting Skill Council
  • GMR Varalakshmi Foundation
  • IIT-BHU
  • IIT Kanpur
  • IIT Kharagpur
  • IIT Tirupati
  • Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC)
  • Insphere Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
  • Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
  • ISAP India Foundation (Formerly Known as Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals)
  • IT for Change
  • Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) University
  • Karnataka State Open University (KSOU)
  • Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of MSME, GoI
  • Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU)
  • M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)
  • Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University (MPBOU)
  • Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU)
  • MAK IT Solution
  • Manav Rachna University
  • Mann Deshi Foundation
  • Ministry of Ayush, GoI
  • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
  • Model Institute of Education and Research
  • National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
  • National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM)
  • National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
  • National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research (NITTTR)
  • National Law University Delhi (NLUD)
  • National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research (NITTTR)
  • Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU)
  • Odisha State Open University (OSOU)
  • India Power Sector Skill Council (PSSC)
  • Puchalapalli Chinnamma Arogya Sadanam Trust
  • Ravenshaw University
  • Sasilu Tec Experts Private Limited
  • SCORE Foundation
  • Search for Truth and Return to Science
  • Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation (SMART)
  • Sofocle Innovation Labs Pvt. Ltd.
  • SWAYAM
  • Tamil Nadu Open University
  • Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC)
  • The Energy and Resources Institute
  • The Real Image Company
  • Together with Youth, Sri Lanka
  • UNESCO
  • U. P. Rajarshi Tandon Open University (UPRTOU)
  • Uttarakhand Open University
  • VIDIYAL
  • Vidyasagar University
  • West Bengal State University (WBSU)
  • Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU)

Key Contacts

Board of Governors

Professor Sudhir K. Jain
Vice Chancellor
Banaras Hindu University

Focal Point

Mr Mrutyunjay Behera
Economic Adviser, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education

Notable Mention

Mr R.P. Agrawal, former member of COL Board of Governors

The late Mr. Sudeep K. Banerjee, former member of COL Board of Governors

Mr B.S. Baswan, former member of COL Board of Governors

Mr B.K. Chaturvedi, former member of COL Board of Governors

Ms Vibha Puri Das, former member of COL Board of Governors

Mr P.R. Dasgupta, former member of COL Board of Governors

Professor Vasudha Kamat, Honorary COL Adviser

Mr M.K. Kaw, former member of COL Board of Governors

Mr Kamaraj Keppanan, COL Honorary Fellow

Dr Abdul Waheed Khan, COL Honorary Fellow

Mr Amit Khare, former member of COL Board of Governors

Professor Badri Nath Koul, COL Honorary Fellow

Father T.V. Kunnunkal, COL Honorary Fellow

Mr Mahesh Chandra Pant, COL Honorary Fellow

Professor T.V. Prabhakar, COL Chair (Department of Computer Science, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur)

Professor Vasireddy Sivalinga Prasad, COL Honorary Fellow

Dr Mrs K. Rama, former Honorary COL Adviser

Professor Nageshwar Rao, COL Honorary Fellow

The late Professor G. Ram Reddy, COL Honorary Fellow and member of COL’s Founding Board of Governors

Mr K K Sharma, former member of COL Board of Governors

Mr Abhimanyu Singh, former member of COL Board of Governors

Ms Chetna Vijay Sinha, COL Honorary Fellow

Mr R. Subrahmanyam, former member of COL Board of Governors

The late Professor V.C. Kulandai Swamy, COL Honorary Fellow

Professor Ram G. Takwale, COL Honorary Fellow

Mr S.C. Tripathi, former member of COL Board of Governors

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