Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan (UBA) 2.0 was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in February 2018. UBA 2.0 aims to bring a transformative change in rural development through the active participation of higher education institutes with rural communities and the reorientation of communities through research and development. The University Grants Commission (UGC) set up a Subject Expert Group (SEG) on Curricular Reforms and Educational Institutions Social Responsibility for achieving the objectives of UBA 2.0 in June 2018.

“The Subject Expert Group (SEG) on Curricular Reforms and Educational Institutions Social Responsibility will basically work on the reforms in the curriculum at the level of UG and PG to instil the concept of Rural Community Engagement and Social Responsibility. The endeavour will be to ensure that community engagement is not seen as a standalone activity and is integrated into the regular curriculum of the university to ensure the development of the society around the university.” This document provides the “Guidelines for Fostering Social Responsibility and Community Engagement” of HEIs in India. It has been developed by the Expert Group through a series of consultations over this period. It has been revised to include key recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic and responses by students, faculty and staff of HEIs during the same have been incorporated in this revision. To achieve the objectives of the socio-economic development of New India, HEIs can play an important role through active community engagement. This approach will also contribute to improve the quality of both teaching and research in HEIs in India. As a growing and large sector in the country, HEIs need to foster social responsibility and community engagement in their vision and mission itself. It is also important that institutional mechanisms are developed to adopt a holistic and functional approach to community engagement, encompassing all three functions of HEIs—teaching, research and service.

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