Indira Gandhi National Open University was established in 1985 to democratise higher education. The aim was to provide cost-effective, quality education to large sections of our population including those living in remote and farflung areas. A mere fifteen years since its inception IGNOU has carved a niche for itself among the premier educational institutions in the country. The University has been a pioneer in Distance Education and the recipient of the Centre of Excellence in Distance Education award conferred by the Commonwealth of Learning in 1993.

IGNOU has about 11,87,100 students with extremely varied profiles, spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. The University has an efficient and effective networking of 48 Regional Centres (22 are IGNOU Regional Centres, 8 are IGNOU North-East Regional Centres, 5 are Army Command Centres, 8 are IAF Command Centres, 4 are Navy Command Centres and 1 is for Assam Rifles Command Centre), 5 Sub-Regional Centres and over 1133 Study Centres, all over India. As an Open University, IGNOU has come a long way since 1985, having crossed national boundaries providing higher education as well as assisting other developing countries in this regard.