IGNOU was established to serve the Indian populace through distance and open education, delivering high-quality higher education to people from all walks of life. It also seeks to promote, organise, and establish standards for remote and open education in India, as well as to improve India’s human resources via education. Aside from teaching and research, the university’s academic activities are centred on extension and training. It also functions as a national resource centre, promoting and maintaining remote education standards in India.

The SAARC Council on Open and Distance Learning (SACODiL) and the Global Mega Universities Network (GMUNET), both financed by UNESCO, have their secretariats at IGNOU. IGNOU has begun the process of decentralisation by dividing the university into five zones: north, south, east, west, and northeast. The first regional headquarters would be built on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to serve four southern states. IGNOU has been tasked by the Ministry of HRD with drafting a Draft Policy on Open and Distance Learning and Online Courses.

In order to create courses, IGNOU collaborates with other organisations. In collaboration with the Retailers Association of India, IGNOU provides a BBA in Retail remote learning programme (RAI). The CBCS technique has recently been applied at the university for different bachelor’s degree courses, including BA, BAVTM, BCOM, BSC, and others. According to the new CBCS system, the test will be administered in semesters rather than annually as it was previously.