Students now can save their academic documents such as degree certificates and mark-sheets online and can have access to it at the time of need, thanks to the National Academic Depository (NAD) – an initiative of the Central government to empower students with online and permanent access.
“The Central government has setup National Academic Depository (NAD) which is a 24×7 online store house of academic awards digitally lodged by various academic institutions/school boards/eligibility assessment bodies,” Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Upendra Kushwaha said on Tuesday.
While replying to a question in Lok Sabha, the minister said that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been designated as authorized body to operate the NAD.
Launched under ‘Digital India’ program, the NAD is an initiative of MHRD to provide academic certificates in digital format which are available 24/7 online for students.
The NAD was launched in 2016 to empower students with online, permanent access. The certificates are digital and verifiable and hence are easily trusted by all users.
“The academic awards to be lodged on NAD cover degrees, diplomas, certificates, mark-sheets including awards issued for skill development,” he said.
The minister said that the framework of the NAD includes various Central Universities, Central Higher Educational Institutions, State Universities, Deemed to be Universities, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), State School Education Boards located in various States/Union Territories including Maharashtra.
“The NAD comprises of two interoperable digital depositories — NSDL Database Management Limited (NDML) and CDSL Ventures Limited (CVL),” he said, adding. “Maintenance of academic awards in a digital depository not only enables online access, retrieval and verification of these awards, but also helps eliminating fraudulent practices such as forging of certificates and mark-sheets etc.”
In addition to this, the minister said that the CBSE too has introduced digital depository ‘Parinam Manjusha’ to enable students to find their mark sheets, pass and migration certificates online. It was developed by the CBSE in collaboration with NEGD (DigiLocker). The employers and educational institutions can use it to verify academic records and students can have the access to their certificates through ‘Parinam Manjusha’.