The proposed multidisciplinary education and research university (MERU) will open up new opportunities for the youth, promote inter-disciplinary research and make India a global hub of research and development, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.

Virtually addressing the inaugural session of World Universities Summit, he said the new National Education Policy (NEP) added a new imagination for the Indian higher education system -- multidisciplinary education and research.

"It outlines the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Quality, equity, accessibility and affordability are the four pillars of the new education policy on which a new India will emerge," he added.

The minister said the vision of 'Study In India-Stay In India' will take the country towards becoming a global destination in education.

"No student should suffer due to language limitations or regional linguistic constraints," he said.

"The multidisciplinary education and research university (MERU) will open up new opportunities for India's youth. It will promote inter-disciplinary research and make India a global hub of research and development," Pradhan said.

The minister stressed that synergising education with skill development will open new avenues of socio-economic empowerment.

"The NEP will facilitate integration of education with skills and enable India to reap the demographic dividend. COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the adoption of online learning and use of digital technologies to ensure that learning continues. This mode is going to stay giving way to hybrid methods of learning and knowledge dissemination. Our future planning, therefore, needs to fill a digital divide," he said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Nadu, UGC chairperson D P Singh were among those who attended the virtual event organised by O P Jindal University.