India being a land of multiple cultures has 22 official languages with 720 dialects, 122 major languages, and 1599 other languages, delivering education to all citizens has always been a major problem. Add to that the fact that about a million people are turning 18 every month (as per a survey conducted by FICCI in 2014) which would need 6 universities and 270 colleges every month to bridge the education divide. Since this was physically not possible, the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) was conceived to provide a disruptive innovation to overcome this challenge by using digital technology. The project was sponsored and mentored by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, through its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) and is being developed and maintained by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

With the objective of WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) for taking education to the masses, WGF got into a collaboration with NDLI whereby WGF could leverage the materials of NDLI to educate students at all levels – a school student, a college goer, a researcher or a lifelong learner, in all possible domains, in all popular media and languages, from any location at no cost. The idea is to ensure the spread of education to the remotest part of India that will be free to all.

1. Organization of NDLI:

NDLI is organized very conveniently, as shown below, so as to enable consumption by target students (schoolgoers, college students, etc.) in the shortest possible time and with minimum effort. While there is a specific tab for schoolgoers, college students and researchers can click on tabs based on their domain of interest. Additionally, students can prepare for various competitive examinations by clicking on the respective tabs. One can also search or browse for various topics by subject, source, or type; the customized tabs make it easier for anyone to access their requisite materials with the flick of an icon.