PARAKH: the assessment body behind the Holistic Progress Card
PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) is an independent constituent unit of NCERT, set up by notification on 8 February 2023 to carry out paragraph 4.4.1 of NEP 2020, setting the norms, standards and guidelines for student assessment. For a school it shows up as three things: the Digital Holistic Progress Card portal, the equivalence-of-boards work, and the large-scale PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan.
Official portal: parakh.ncert.gov.in/ · Edutris is an independent software company and is not affiliated with NCERT. Verify fees and dates on the official portal before acting.
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| What it is | NCERT’s national assessment centre: an independent constituent unit, notified 8 February 2023 |
| Mandate | NEP 2020 para 4.4.1: “setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment” |
| Digital HPC | hpc.parakh.ncert.gov.in: logins for Student/Parent, School/Teacher, State/District Admin, PARAKH Admin |
| Equivalence of boards | board.parakh.ncert.gov.in: board and admin logins |
| PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 | 74,229 schools · 21,15,022 students · 2,70,424 teachers · 36 States/UTs · classes 3, 6 and 9 |
| Contact | +91-11-2659 2162 · nationalassessmentcenter.parakh@gmail.com · Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110016 |
| Last checked against the official site | Sept 2026 |
What is PARAKH and why does it exist?
PARAKH was established as an independent constituent unit within NCERT by official notification dated 8 February 2023, to “fulfill the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, guidelines and implement activities related to student assessment” as directed by paragraph 4.4.1 of the National Education Policy 2020. It is the body that turns NEP’s assessment intentions (competency-based, holistic, comparable across boards) into instruments schools will meet.
What is the Holistic Progress Card, and where is the portal?
The Digital HPC portal is live at hpc.parakh.ncert.gov.in and offers four role-based logins: Student/Parent, School/Teacher, State/District Admin and PARAKH Admin. That is all the public page says. It does not define the card, state which stages or grades it covers, say whether states or boards must adopt it, or describe how a school onboards: those instructions come through the state or board, and this guide will not fill the gap with a summary from elsewhere.
What are “equivalence of boards” and the Rashtriya Sarvekshan?
Equivalence of boards has its own portal at board.parakh.ncert.gov.in with separate board and admin logins. It is board-facing, not school-facing. The large-scale assessment is the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan; the 2024 round covered 74,229 schools, 21,15,022 students and 2,70,424 teachers across 36 States and UTs in classes 3, 6 and 9, in Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and “The world around us”. A sampled school takes part when its district tells it to; there is nothing to apply for.
What should a school do about PARAKH today?
- Wait for the board or state instruction on the Holistic Progress Card before changing report-card formats, the public portal publishes no adoption rule.
- If the school is sampled for a Rashtriya Sarvekshan round, follow the district’s brief; the survey is administered, not applied for.
- Keep competency-wise marks and teacher remarks in a system that can be exported, so whatever HPC template arrives can be filled from records rather than re-collected.
What goes wrong, and the fix
A vendor says its report card “is the PARAKH HPC”.
The public HPC portal defines no template and names no vendors. Treat the claim as unverified until the state or board circular says which format applies.
Teachers ask whether HPC replaces the board report card.
The public page does not say. Route the question to the board or state; do not answer from a blog.
What Edutris does here, and what it does not
Does
- Produces CBSE (A1–E2) and ICSE format report cards plus the standard format, and keeps marks and teacher remarks per student per term, so a future HPC template can be filled from records.
Does not
- Connect to the Digital HPC portal, submit anything to PARAKH, or ship an HPC-format card. No PARAKH template is published to build one from.
Frequently asked questions
Is PARAKH a board?
No. It is NCERT’s assessment centre: the body that sets assessment norms and runs the national survey and the equivalence-of-boards work. Boards remain the examining bodies.
Does my school have to use the Holistic Progress Card?
The public HPC portal does not state an adoption rule, which stages it covers, or how a school onboards. Adoption instructions come from the state or board; follow those.
How is a school chosen for the Rashtriya Sarvekshan?
By sampling: the 2024 round covered 74,229 schools across 36 States and UTs in classes 3, 6 and 9. Sampled schools are informed through the district; there is no application.
Does Edutris produce the HPC?
No. There is no published PARAKH template to build one from. Edutris produces CBSE, ICSE and standard report cards and keeps the per-student marks and remarks that any future HPC would draw on.
Sources
Related on Edutris
Guides from the blog
Edutris features
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