Each of the four bodies has a distinct mandate, so identifying which one is concerned with planning and administration settles the question.

NUEPA is the answer. Its name is the National University of Educational Planning and Administration, and educational planning is precisely its subject. Established in Delhi and given deemed to be university status in 2006, it is the only institution in the country devoted wholly to capacity building and research in educational planning and administration. It trains senior education officials from the states and from other countries, conducts research and policy analysis, and produces the District Information System for Education, which is the main source of school statistics in India. Capacity building programmes for education administrators are its central activity. It has since been renamed the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration.

NCERT, the National Council of Educational Research and Training, is concerned with school education - developing the National Curriculum Framework, preparing syllabi and textbooks, and training teachers. Its focus is curriculum and pedagogy rather than planning and administration.

UGC, the University Grants Commission, coordinates and determines standards in higher education, disburses grants to universities and colleges, and frames regulations. It funds and regulates institutions; it does not run capacity building on educational planning.

NAAC, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, assesses and accredits higher education institutions, grading them on infrastructure, teaching, research and governance. Its work is evaluation rather than training.

The distinction worth carrying away is that NCERT works on what is taught, UGC and NAAC on how institutions are funded and judged, and NUEPA on how the education system is planned and administered.

Hence NUEPA deals with capacity building programmes on Educational Planning.