This Chapter Introduces the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 while Following India’s Long Education Policy Journey. The Current Work Starts by Studying the Colonial Involvements that Shaped Early Structures of India’s Schooling and Higher Education. After that, it Studies Post-Independence Commissions and National Policies that Sought to Expand Access, Strengthen Institutions, and Promote National Integration. Over the Decades, Policy Reform Increased Enrolment, but Unfortunately, it Left Certain Gaps in the Domains Such as Learning Quality, Structural Alignment, and Institutional Capacity. Keeping these Gaps in Mind, the Chapter Shows how these Unresolved Issues Ultimately Led to the Emergence of NEP 2020. Instead of Considering this Policy as a Sudden Shift, the Current Work Reads it as a Structural Response. It Sets the Conceptual Foundation for the Chapters that Follow in the Book, which Examine Policy Interpretation and Implementation in Practice