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A PIB Backgrounder set out the status of PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India), the Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched on 7 September 2022 to develop over 14,500 exemplar schools aligned to NEP 2020.
As of July 2026, 13,092 schools — about 90% of the target — have been selected across 36 States and UTs, covering 725 districts and 8,340 blocks/ULBs.
The scheme carries a project cost of Rs 27,360 crore for 2022-23 to 2026-27, of which the Central share is Rs 18,128 crore.
Schools are picked through a three-stage Challenge Mode using UDISE+ data, with final selection by an Expert Committee headed by the Secretary (School Education and Literacy).
PM SHRI schools are meant to act as mentor institutions for neighbouring schools, marking a shift from infrastructure-led development to holistic, future-ready education.
Qualitatively strengthen over 14,500 existing schools so they demonstrate every component of NEP 2020 in practice.
Key: Six pillars derived from nine chapters of NEP 2020; schools follow CBSE or the State/UT syllabus built on the 5+3+3+4 structure; quality tracked through the School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF); selected schools mentor neighbouring schools.
Single integrated scheme for school education from pre-primary to senior secondary, subsuming Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education.
Key: Continued for 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs 2,94,283.04 crore, including a Central share of Rs 1,85,398.32 crore. It is the umbrella scheme under which NIPUN Bharat and KGBV are run.
National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy — universal foundational literacy and numeracy.
Key: Every child to attain foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3 by 2026-27; implemented by the Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha.
One hot cooked meal in Government and Government-aided schools; the renamed and widened Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
Key: Covers about 11.80 crore children in 11.20 lakh schools for 2021-22 to 2025-26, plus Bal Vatika pre-school children; Central outlay Rs 54,061.73 crore. PM POSHAN performance is one of the parameters assessed in the PM SHRI Challenge Method.
Residential upper-primary schools for girls from SC, ST, OBC, minority and below-poverty-line families in educationally backward blocks.
Key: At least 75% of seats reserved for SC/ST/OBC/minority girls; 80 KGBVs are among the schools selected under PM SHRI.
National digital platform for school education, an NCERT initiative under the Ministry of Education.
Key: Supports 36 Indian languages and serves as the repository of digital learning resources used by PM SHRI schools alongside ICT labs and smart classrooms.
Runs Kendriya Vidyalayas for children of transferable central government employees; 913 of its schools are PM SHRI schools
Runs Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas — residential co-educational schools, one per district, for talented children predominantly from rural areas; set up from 1985, with the first two at Amravati (Maharashtra) and Jhajjar (Haryana). 620 are PM SHRI schools
Apex body advising on school curriculum, textbooks and the National Curriculum Framework; parent body of PARAKH and DIKSHA; 4 NCERT schools are PM SHRI schools
National Assessment Centre mandated by NEP 2020 — sets assessment norms and standards, brings school boards onto a common platform, conducts the National Achievement Survey and manages India's participation in PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS
District-level teacher-education institutions that deliver PM SHRI capacity building — Holistic Progress Card, school safety, mental health, first-level counselling and ICT integration
Approves the annual State-wise outlays under the scheme; the PM SHRI Central share it cleared rose from Rs 2,520 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 5,224 crore in 2026-27
Schools compete for scheme support rather than being nominated. States first sign an MoU with the Centre; an eligible pool is drawn from UDISE+ data; eligible schools then compete against prescribed conditions, with compliance certified by physical inspection before an Expert Committee makes the final selection.
Simple Analogy: Funding is won in a contest, not handed out by quota.
Approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 July 2020 on the recommendation of the K. Kasturirangan committee, it replaced the National Policy on Education 1986 and introduced the 5+3+3+4 curricular structure in place of 10+2. PM SHRI is the instrument that demonstrates NEP 2020 at the school level.
The 'green schools' pillar of PM SHRI carries the Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) idea into classrooms. Mission LiFE was launched on 20 October 2022 at the Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Gujarat by the Prime Minister with the UN Secretary-General, after India first proposed the idea at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.
The Ministry of Education's school database supplies both the eligibility benchmarks for PM SHRI selection and the teacher-language data cited for 2025-26 — making UDISE+ the measurement backbone of school-education schemes.
PM SHRI promotes the mother tongue or regional language as the medium in early grades, the same principle NEP 2020 and NIPUN Bharat rest on for foundational literacy and numeracy.
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Government Policies and Interventions for Development in Various Sectors
General Awareness > Government Schemes
General Awareness > Current Affairs
Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India — Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched 7 September 2022 to build over 14,500 NEP-aligned exemplar schools with an outlay of Rs 27,360 crore.
Three-stage competitive selection — State MoU, UDISE+ based eligibility pool, and a scored challenge (70% urban, 60% rural) verified by physical inspection.
School Quality Assessment Framework — the structured mechanism used to assess and monitor quality in PM SHRI schools.
Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development — the National Assessment Centre set up as a constituent unit of NCERT on 8 February 2023.