Step 1: Name the source of the scheme.
Gandhi introduced this idea in 1937 at the Wardha Education Conference, so it is also called the Wardha Scheme.
Step 2: Explain the central idea first.
Instead of separating "book learning" from "manual work," Basic Education makes a craft the center of the timetable, and all other subjects (language, maths, science) are taught around that craft activity.
Step 3: List the remaining features.
Learning happens in the child's mother tongue, schooling is free and compulsory from 7 to 14 years, the craft's output can help fund the school, and lessons stay connected to the community around the child rather than abstract, disconnected topics.
Final Answer:
Craft-centered learning, mother-tongue instruction, free schooling till age 14, aiming at self-support, and a strong link to community life are its defining features.