Consider the following statements about New National Education Policy approved by Union Cabinet of India on 29 th 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.

Statement 1 is correct. The draft was prepared by a committee chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan, former ISRO chairman, and submitted to the government in 2019. The Union Cabinet approved the final National Education Policy 2020 on 29 July 2020.

Statement 2 is wrong, even though its first half is true. The policy does replace the National Policy on Education 1986, as modified in 1992. But that policy had been in force for about 34 years (1986 to 2020), not 38. Since the statement contains a false claim, it cannot be selected.

• Option B is wrong because it accepts statement 2, which is false.
• Option C is wrong because it also accepts statement 2.
• Option D is wrong because statement 1 is true.

Core concept: education is in the Concurrent List (Entry 25 of List III), so a national policy guides the Centre and states but does not bind them as law. For Mains, NEP 2020 is useful on the 5+3+3+4 curricular structure, multidisciplinary education, and the target of 50 per cent GER in higher education by 2035.

Trap: aspirants see that the policy 'replaces' the old one and mark statement 2 as true without checking the number of years. Always calculate the duration yourself.