The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985. IGNOU had achieved the ‘largest university’ status, from UNESCO, in January 2010. IGNOU has following objectives:

• Democratizing higher education by taking it to the doorsteps of the learners
• Providing access to high quality education to all those who seek it irrespective of age, region, religion and gender
• Offering need-based academic programs by giving professional and vocational orientation to the courses
• Promoting and developing distance education in India
• Setting and maintaining standards in distance education in the country as an apex body