Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asserted that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is flexible and is not imposed on states by the Centre.

States can adopt the policy according to their requirements, she said at the launch event for ‘Desia’ and ‘Kuwi’ (tribal languages) primer books in Bhubaneswar, along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“NEP is a flexible policy. It is not something that the Centre decides and imposes on all the states. It is a broad framework and the states can adopt it according to their requirements,” Sitharaman said.

She said the NEP is a result of different people putting their minds together after extensive consultation.

Sitharaman also said that “when one learns, speaks and thinks in one's mother tongue, there's clarity of thought. That is why learning in the mother tongue is important. The central government is making all-out efforts for the education of tribal children”.

Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said there are over 62 tribes covering 23 per cent of Odisha’s population, and it becomes necessary to teach the students with the help of pictures, stories and songs based on their local nature and culture to improve their cognitive development.

At another event in the state capital, Sitharaman called upon the chartered accountants’ fraternity to make itself familiar with new technologies and global developments like carbon accounting and environment, social and governance (ESG) norms.

Noting that India’s economy is driven by start-ups, new-age industries, and those transitioning from traditional methods to modern approaches, she said such activities require the support of CAs.

Earlier in the day, the two Union ministers attended a series of events under the nationwide ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign.

The finance minister also collected ‘maati’ (soil) in the ‘Amrit Kalash’ (sacred pot) at Biraharekrushnapur, the birthplace of renowned freedom fighter Jayee Rajguru in Puri district.

Sitharaman honoured the family members of martyrs and freedom fighters in Puri.

She also administered the ‘Panch Pran’ pledge to a gathering during a programme at the Central Sanskrit University, and said every Indian should be free from the slavery mindset instilled by the British.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the need to eliminate any trace of colonial mindset," she said.

The finance minister arrived in Bhubaneswar on a two-day visit to Odisha on Wednesday evening.

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