Examine how data platforms such as UDISE+ and PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan have transformed education governance monitoring in India.

Q. Examine how data platforms such as UDISE+ and PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan have transformed education governance monitoring in India. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

The Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs and for Districts, released for 2025-26, is built almost entirely on UDISE+ and PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan data [1]. This marks a shift in education governance from episodic, paper-based reporting to continuous, evidence-based monitoring of a system spanning over 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and 24.72 crore students [1].

From administrative returns to a unified digital database - UDISE+ converts school-level returns into a single national repository, supplying most PGI indicators alongside the PRABANDH, PM POSHAN and Vidyanjali portals [1]. - PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 tested competencies of about 23 lakh students in Grades 3, 6 and 9 across 782 districts, creating an independent learning-outcome benchmark [4].

Shift from inputs to outcomes - PGI-S now allots 1,000 points across 70 indicators, grouped under Outcome and Governance & Management, covering six domains including Learning Outcomes and Equity [1] — a move beyond the input-heavy focus of earlier editions [2]. - Survey-based achievement data makes learning, not enrolment alone, the measure of performance [3].

Decentralised, granular diagnosis - PGI-D grades districts on 600 points, 70 indicators, 11 domains, making the district the unit of corrective action; 473 districts improved their score over 2024-25 [1].

Accountability without federal friction - States are placed in grade bands, not ranks, allowing comparison while respecting education's Concurrent List status; notably, no State/UT reached the top three grades in 2025-26 [1].

Limitations - Largely self-reported school data, time lags between collection and publication, sample-based survey coverage, and uneven digital capacity at block level can distort grades.

Data platforms have thus turned monitoring from a compliance ritual into a diagnostic instrument that identifies precisely where learning falters. Strengthening third-party verification, shortening reporting lags and linking PGI findings to targeted Samagra Shiksha allocations would convert measurement into improvement — advancing the NEP 2020 goal of universal foundational learning and SDG-4.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Union Ministry of Education Releases Report on PGI 2.0 for States/UTs (PGI-S) and PGI for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26, PIB — index structure, points, indicators, domains, data sources, grade bands, 473 districts improved, system scale 2. Ministry of Education releases report on Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs for 2021-22, PIB — evolution of the index towards PGI 2.0 3. PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 Reports, NCERT — national learning-outcome benchmarking 4. Around 23 lakh students from 88 thousand schools in 782 districts to participate in PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, PIB — survey coverage, grades assessed