National Board of Accreditation (NBA):
NBA was established by AICTE in 1994 and became an independent body in 2010 and 2014 India has become a permanent signatory to the Washington Accord (WA) which recognizes the global equivalence of engineering degrees.
NBA accredited Tier I engineering institutions degrees are now valid in 20 nations. NAAC certifies institutions whereas NBA accredits the programs run by the institutions. NBA is more specific in that it expects that the graduating engineers should have the graduate attributes as defined in the Washington accord. An institution may have a mix of excellent programs as well as some average programs. And students are unable to differentiate between the departments if the institute is accredited by NAAC but the NBA accredited program means that the said program meets all the ten criteria’s and this is very specific.
Accreditation granted by NBA qualifies the institution for benefits from AICTE like – Variation in intake Introduction of new courses
Eligibility to apply for AICTE funds – MODROBS, TAPTEC, R&D, and others
Eligibility to apply for research projects funded by various government organizations like – DRDO, DST, CSIR, DNES, and others
Accreditation granted by NBA helps the institution to approach UGC and apply for –
- Autonomous college status
- Deemed university status
- Inclusion under section 2(f) for funds from UGC
- Inclusion under section 12(B) for Central government funds
- Funds for NAAC sponsored seminars on specific topics.