NEP 2020 at Six Years: An Analytical Review for the LIS Profession

Objective: The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) completed six years of implementation in July 2026. This paper analyses the policy's cumulative impact on the Library and Information Science (LIS) profession in India, examining how its provisions on multidisciplinary education, digital infrastructure, research culture, and skill development have reshaped the mandate, curriculum, and practice of academic and institutional libraries. Methodology: The study adopts a conceptual and analytical design based on document review and literature synthesis. Primary policy texts (the NEP 2020 document, PIB releases, UGC and regulatory notifications) are read alongside ten peer-reviewed studies published between 2021 and 2025 on NEP 2020 and libraries, supplemented by government-reported six-year achievement indicators. Key Findings: NEP 2020 has repositioned libraries from passive repositories to active partners in multidisciplinary, research-oriented, and technology-enabled learning. Reported gains include curricular restructuring toward the 5+3+3+4 framework, expansion of digital learning infrastructure, growth in research-support services, and revision of LIS curricula toward data science, digital curation, and information literacy. However, implementation remains uneven: rural and tribal libraries report ICT penetration of only 25-40 per cent, LIS professional cadres remain understaffed, and no dedicated national library policy or library cadre-restructuring instrument has yet been notified to operationalise NEP's library-related commitments. Conclusion: NEP 2020 provides a credible and largely favourable framework for repositioning the LIS profession, but six years of progressive implementation reveal a persistent gap between policy vision and library-level resourcing. Sustained investment in professional development, rural digital infrastructure, and a dedicated library policy instrument is required to convert the NEP's stated intentions into demonstrable professional and institutional outcomes.