Now, no sweat if your degree is lost

Students will no longer have to run around to get their degrees attested or verified for authenticity. Also, there is nothing to worry even if the degrees are lost because the government has decided to maintain a national database of all schools, colleges and university-level certificates in a DMAT or compressed format, which can be easily accessed by students, universities and employers.

The Union cabinet on Tuesday cleared a proposed legislation by the ministry of human resource development (HRD) to bring the National Academic Depository (NAD) Bill 2011 in parliament.
All degrees of public examinations, starting from Class X onwards, will be stored in an electronic format in a depository under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This will also be applicable to professional and technical degrees, including IITs and IIMs. The National Depository would also authenticate and reissue certificates.

While the scheme will be helpful for the students passing in the coming years, HRD officials said those who have already passed out can also get their degrees and certificate uploaded online to keep them safe.

All school boards, universities and certificate issuing institutions will have direct linkages to the depository. The database would also help deal with issues like forged certificates since it will enable online verification and easy retrieval of academic qualifications.