Impact of India's National Education Policy 2020 on Higher Education and the Development of Students' Social Competencies

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India brings a tectonic change in the corpus educational policy of the country by suggesting radical changes in the higher education with focus on the development of students as the whole entities. This review paper discusses the implications of NEP 2020 in higher education institutions through a strength-based approach, focusing on developing social competencies among students. Based on a review of policy literature, emerging research and theoretical literature, this paper examines how NEP 2020's interdisciplinary focus, the flexible implementation of curriculum and experiential learning aspire to offer opportunities for students to develop their social skills, emotional intelligence and collaborative skills. The implications are that while NEP 2020 gives strong lingual support for integrating social competencies into higher education, its achievement entails substantial institutional redefinition, faculty preparation and continued policy backing. The challenges and opportunities in translating policy intentions to desired educational outcomes that enable students to navigate the dilemmas of complex societies are framed from this review.