Swami Vivekananda University is a fast-growing privately-owned university founded in 2019 in Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal. The university aims to provide quality education and holistic development of the students. It provides a favorable and dynamic environment of the campus with a well-developed infrastructure including the air-conditioned classes, the smart technology-based education, the large library space, and the equipped labs. Having a multidisciplinary focus, Swami Vivekananda University strives to help the students reach their full potential and become the best in their respective areas of study.​

About the University

The Swami Vivekananda Group of Institutions (RERF) under the Swami Vivekananda University Act of 2019 by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly conducts the university. Swami Vivekananda University is still new but has demonstrated impressive academic and research excellence to become a university of more than 10,000 students with 500 research scholars serving more than 300 faculty members. The university is informed by the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, whereby the flexible, career-focused and interdisciplinary course designs are appreciated in accordance with the changing industry and academic requirements.​​

Admission Procedure

It admits on merit and entrance examination, and is controlled by government standards. The university has enabled online application procedures and offers scholarships to students who deserve it. The international learners are required to procure the right student visas and become registered when they arrive. Documentations required are transcripts, identification, photographs, and affidavits. The university also helps in visa facilitation and campus integration to help foreign students in this regard.​

Things to Know About the University 

• Eastern Indian based new and growing fast-paced privately owned university.
• Great attention to career-oriented, flexible, and interdisciplinary curriculum.
• Faculty with active research participation and great qualifications.
• New campus that has good resources and facilities.
• Strong scholarship schemes of brilliant and deserving students.
• Active promotion of innovation and enterprise among students.
• Diplomatic investment in total student growth and civic participation.​

Who Should Take Admission

Swami Vivekananda University can be chosen by students who want to be modern and industry-relevant with the opportunities to conduct the research, innovation, and flexibility of the professional path. The campus will benefit immensely students who are interested in experiencing a rich campus life with diverse academic courses in engineering, management, health sciences and other related disciplines.​

Who Should Avoid Admission

Applicants with a strong preference of the traditional education model that is not that theory oriented but rather application oriented might not find the modern, application based model of the university so appealing. Students who anticipate well established programs with many years of lore might be willing to attend older institutions.​

Swami Vivekananda University is a vibrant and a bright prospect in West Bengal that integrates the contemporary infrastructure, educational quality, and pursuit of student development and social service. Having a swift rise and visionary mind, it is a potential option to ambitious learners in the dynamic education environment of Eastern India, who are looking to receive a holistic offering of higher education.

Technology companies are aggressively marketing the "digital classroom" as a vision of education's future: one of faster learning, smarter students and children prepped for Silicon Valley success. Schools are buying into the hype, parents are being dazzled by devices, and policymakers are convinced that screens equal progress.

But the uncomfortable truth is that there's scant evidence to suggest EdTech actually improves learning - and growing evidence to suggest it harms it.

But despite all the rhetoric of transformation, digital learning has yielded no better results. Indeed, several studies now suggest that students using notebooks and textbooks outperform their screen-based peers by the equivalent of six extra months of learning. The science is clear: handwriting and reading physical books strengthen cognitive development and memory in ways no screen can replicate. Pens, paper, and books make smarter learners than tablets and apps.

Even countries that were once early adopters of the digital classroom are backpedaling. Sweden, once trumpeted as among the forerunners of EdTech in the world, backtracked on its push to digitize schooling when evidence emerged to show that extended screen time was damaging learning outcomes rather than improving them. If one of the most digitally literate countries in the world is pulling back, why is the rest of the world racing blindly ahead?

At its heart, this digital-by-default model relies on an illusion: that children can learn better via devices than from humans. But childhood is not a software problem to be optimized. Learning requires connection, curiosity, challenge, discipline, and mentorship-not notifications, gamified rewards, and algorithm-driven shortcuts.

Where the risk really lies, though, is in technology replacing those very experiences that shape thinking: boredom, deep focus, imagination, social play, handwriting, and human feedback. Swap these out for screens too early, and we'll indeed be raising a generation that will know how to swipe but not think.

It is time to slow the EdTech experiment down, not speed it up. Technology should be the tool, not the default. A more balanced approach would be Early Years & Primary: screen-free learning environments and no personal devices. Secondary schools should freeze student-facing EdTech until it is proven safe, educationally effective and respectful of privacy. Parents: a legal right to opt their children out of digital homework and virtual learning systems. Children deserve teachers, not tablets; relationships, not algorithms. If we really care about their minds, human-centred education needs to be restored before screens reshape childhood beyond repair

The demand for food continues to rise with the growing population, while most of the food crops face challenges such as a shorter season, infestation by pests and erratic weather. Therefore, scientists at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology SKUAST Kashmir are turning to 'speed breeding', a technology in fast-tracking the development of climate-resilient and high yield crops meant for the growing population in the valley.

This has put immense pressure on resources and overall food demand, with Jammu and Kashmir's annual population growth rate ranging from 1 to 2.6% after the year 2000. This comes amidst a backdrop of declining land area, vagaries of climate change, soil erosion, water deficit, short growing seasons, resurgence of new pests, and a constant shortage of quality seeds.

In SKUAST, scientists are resorting to speed breeding to fulfill the growing demand for food in the face of these difficulties. Speed breeding is a new technique that involves hastening the growth cycle of crops under controlled environmental conditions. Although conventional breeding has limits that allow only one or two generations of crops per year, depending on the nature of the climate, with speed breeding, as many as four to six seed-to-seed cycles per year can be achieved by scientists.

According to Asif Bashir Shikari, Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding in SKAUST- Kashmir and Principal Investigator of Speed-Breeding programme in Kashmir, the concept behind speed breeding technique is that 'the idea is to accelerate the breeding'. Though not a crop cultivation system, when a variety comes out of the speed breeding programme, it can be released for commercial cultivation, he clarified.

Shikari explained that the development of a new variety of crop generally takes eight years. After that, it would take another two to three years for regulatory approval before the variety reaches the farmers. It can take up to a decade before a new improved variety is available in the market.

"Speed breeding shortens this entire process considerably. It grows plants under controlled environmental conditions using advanced full-spectrum PPFD lights, accurate temperature and humidity, and optimized photoperiods for the length of time each day that plants receive light. This enables the growth of multiple generations of crops per year-up to five or six in rice-compared with only one or two generations using traditional field or glasshouse conditions," Shikari said

Education is becoming more dynamic than ever, and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the center of this transformation. What used to require years of research and study is now being revolutionized by the fast technological advancement. The CEO of the first generative AI team at Google and founder of Google, Jad Tarifi, says that a PhD is becoming obsolete in this new age of faster innovation.

According to Tarifi, AI is changing so rapidly that by the time a person finishes a PhD, the technology they are reading about has already evolved. Tarifi describes the process of his doctorate as 5 years of studying and suffering, but he must admit that it wasn’t painless.

PhDs are Becoming a Relic of the Past

Tarifi is of the opinion that the doctorate degree is only worthwhile to individuals who are highly interested in research. The issue, he says, is that research and academic programs are changing at an incredibly gradual rate that by the time a student earns a five- or seven-year PhD, their curriculum and the technology that has supported it has advanced.

That is, the formal academic systems are failing to follow the lightning speed of the digital world. Subjects that had to be memorized or learned by heart are in danger of becoming automated, being done more efficiently and less inaccurately by an AI system.

There are some grave threats to the Memory-Based Professions

Tarifi cautions that careers that rely so much on memory such as medicine or traditional clerical work are at risk of being disrupted in the long run by AI. According to him, in case your job is all about remembering facts, AI will soon perform it faster than you.

He recommends that students should redirect attention to areas where AI is still developing like in the biological, environmental and botany fields. Human intuition, creativity, and decision-making will continue to be important in these areas and cannot be substituted by algorithms. 

The Future is in Skills, Not Degrees.

Academic qualifications can soon be placed second to the job market as smart skills and emotional intelligence are valued. Tarifi believes that what certificate is hanging on a wall will be of lesser importance than practical capability and adaptability to change.

He stresses that technical expertise alone does not suffice, but rather the ability to learn fast, accept change, and be responsible with technology is what makes a person successful in the era of AI. The most important characteristics of the future workforce are emotional intelligence (EQ), adaptability and creativity.

‘Degrees tell what you learned; skills show what you are capable of doing’, Tarifi says. In the AI-driven world, it is your capability to think, learn and feel, which will make you really different.

Education Must Be Revisited Radically

A big crossroads is currently being encountered by the global education system. As AI is not only changing how students study, but also what they should study, universities are also being called upon to revise curricula that develop emotional development, problem-solving and digital fluency in addition to theory.

Future generations will be successful individuals who could combine both the smartness and the compassion, the ingenuity with rationality, and the numbers with the understanding of people. Artificial Intelligence can substitute work, but it cannot be used to emulate passion, purpose, and depth of emotions.

In Kerala, a controversy over a school uniform has again put the hijab at a crossroads of education, rights, and institutional freedom. On Friday, the state government informed the Kerala High Court that preventing a Muslim girl from attending school in her headscarf (hijab) was an "invasion" of privacy and dignity and a "denial of her right to secular education," PTI reports.

The affidavit, lodged against a petition by St. Rita's Public School, Palluruthy, Kochi, put the issue in the context of basic freedoms under a secular constitution. The state contended that the right of a student to appear in the headscarf "does not stop at the school gate," asserting that uniformity cannot anticipate constitutional liberty.

From classroom rule to courtroom argument

The issue started when the church-run St. Rita's Public School objected to a General Education Department directive permitting the student to go to classes wearing her hijab. The minority institution, affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), said the directive was "illegal" and out of the department's jurisdiction.

In its affidavit, the state government maintained that the Education Department has "sufficient functional, financial and administrative control" in certain areas over CBSE-affiliated schools, citing the Affiliation Bye-Laws and connected government orders.

The parents of the student, at the time of the hearing, told the court that they had withdrawn the girl and had applied elsewhere. The court, accepting the withdrawal, did not find it appropriate to investigate the contentious points further. Justice V. G. Arun noted that "better sense has prevailed" and that "fraternity", a pillar of constitutional values, was not disturbed, PTI adds.

The state's stand: Rights and reconciliation

Some days back, Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty had responded directly to the controversy. "The decision of the school officials was unconstitutional," he stated, continuing to add that "a child's rights cannot be denied," reports ANI.

He called on schools to come up with a proper headscarf that could be integrated into the school uniform as a reasonable middle way. If schools do not obey, the government will take serious action, the minister warned.

Sivankutty also warned against efforts to make such disputes communal flashpoints and urged that they be settled at the institutional level. "The government's position is very clear," he said. "We will strictly follow the rights under the Constitution and applicable court orders." 

A broader trend: India's changing uniform debate

The St. Rita's episode is only the newest in a long chain of hijab controversies that have been besetting India on a national level. These controversies highlight the manner in which institutions of learning and higher education are finding it difficult to achieve the fine balance between the maintenance of the rule of the institution and the respect for individual freedom. Governments from Kerala and Karnataka to Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have wrestled with these issues: To what extent can there be a uniform policy without encroaching on freedom of religion?

Ten students in Chatra, Jharkhand, accused a principal of stripping them of their hijabs in July 2025, but the charge turned out to be baseless, say district authorities. In May 2025, an investigation was initiated after a Khalsa Girls Inter College, Meerut student came into focus claiming that she was disallowed from wearing a hijab, informs TNN.

In Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor, students were let go for refusing to comply with instructions on the color of scarves to wear, and in Karnataka, an assistant professor was accused of requiring students on a field trip to wear hijabs.

In each of these, the outcomes have been different. Some through negotiation, some through confrontation, but collectively they identify that there is no uniform policy framework.

Uniformity, autonomy, and the line in the constitution

Indian classroom hijab disputes are no longer a solo event. They are the persistent conflict between constitutional freedom and institutional uniformity. The schools can urge unity and equality with dress codes, but the government must yet ensure personal choice without sacrificing order‍‍‌‍‍‌.

The federal structure introduces yet another layer: states construct rules differently and managements filter these regulations through their own administrative and cultural filters. What results is a patchwork of local solutions as opposed to a national consensus.

The administrative question still stands, nonetheless. Can there be one uniform that is absolute?

True, the Kerala experience suggests that the solution will have to be found not in judicial decisions but in wise policymaking. Anything else would render governance a vicious circle of responding to scandals, and schools laboratories of more ideological battles.

The Union government's new draft labour policy has triggered a political row for being "inspired" by ancient Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti, which codified the system of caste hierarchy. The draft National Labour and Employment Policy of the Ministry of Labour and Employment employs the word labour as rajdharma, the sovereign's duty, and sets work forth as a dharmic moral obligation in the "Indic worldview". Experts and opposition leaders do not agree, however, and argue that invocation of the Manusmriti contravenes the tenets of workers' rights, fair remuneration, and social justice the Constitution holds dear.

The working draft identifies that social norms view work as a moral and sacred responsibility that maintains social harmony, economic prosperity, and common good.

"Within the Indic system, labor is not merely a means of subsistence but an act of contribution to the greater order of dharma (righteous duty). According to this vision, all workers, from artisans, farmers, and teachers to factory laborers, are recognized as integral actors in the web of social creation," the policy read.

It also alludes to such early Hindu scriptures as the Manusmriti, holding that such writings defined the ethos of rajdharma, the sovereign's duty to deliver justice, fair wages, and protection against exploitation to labor.

The Congress on Wednesday charged the Modi government with going back on the values of Manusmriti through the new draft policy. The party claimed that the paper upholds the text as the moral framework of governance of labor at the cost of contemporary democratic values.

Congress joint secretary Jairam Ramesh characterized the policy as an expression of the ideological leanings of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and blamed it for having "attacked the Constitution just after it was adopted".

'The Modi Government's working paper Shram Shakti Niti 2025, released last month for public feedback, explicitly avers that the Manusmriti situates 'the moral basis of labour regulation within India's civilisational heritage, centuries before the advent of modern labour law,'\" Ramesh said in an X post.

A branch of India's National Forensic Sciences University will be opened in Astana, Kazakhstan, following the signing on Oct. 29 of an agreement to that effect. To be established at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the branch will offer dual-degree programs in association with the main campus of NFSU in Gandhinagar.

Kazakhstan and India have signed an agreement to establish a branch of the Indian National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Astana on Oct. 29, in a significant move to develop education and research in forensic science, cybersecurity, and criminal investigation.

The document was signed after a trilateral meeting hosted at the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan and participated in by the Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aidar Saitbekov, and NFSU Executive Registrar Shree Jadeja.

According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education press service, the new branch will function on the basis of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and provide a range of dual-degree programs together with NFSU's main campus in Gandhinagar, India.

The initiative aims to train highly qualified specialists for Kazakhstan's law enforcement and judicial systems in such fields as digital forensics, applied criminology, and IT security.

The ministries believe that, besides the above benefits, the cooperation will promote joint scientific and legal research projects, increase Kazakhstan's academic potential, and turn the country into a regional leader in forensic and technological education in Central Asia.

The sides intend to develop modern laboratories, professional training programs, and expert exchanges in order to enhance the ability of regional states to combat cybercrime and advance digital forensics.

According to the order passed by NCAHP, the move has been taken in order to bring uniformity in the terminology and align it with the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act.

The Centre has officially instructed that henceforth, all states, union territories and the corresponding educational institutions should not use "Paramedical" and use "Allied and Healthcare" in all official communications, policies, advertisements and academic references, News18 has learnt.

This move comes in line with the provisions of the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, which was enacted to standardize and regulate this wide-ranging group of health professionals under a unified framework. In fact, the order, dated July 1, has been issued by the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Profession under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

While explaining the renaming, the circular accessed by News18 said, "The term 'Paramedical' has long been used to describe various healthcare-related professions providing support services in healthcare delivery. However, with the enactment of the NCAHP Act, 2021, the term 'Allied and Healthcare' has been formally adopted."

It is further advised to avoid the term 'Paramedical' and use the words 'Allied and Healthcare' instead in all the training programmes, recruitment notifications, advertisements, educational materials, and all forms of communication - verbal and written," the circular said.

The order issued to chief secretaries, principal secretaries and health secretaries of all states and union territories said the move has been taken to ensure uniformity in terminology and alignment with the Act.

It has also recommended that all state governments, UT administrations and institutions must comply with the immediate change in terminology at their training programmes, in recruitment notifications, in educational materials, advertisements and all forms of communications — both in words and in writing. "All state governments/UT administrations and institutions are, therefore, requested to comply with this change in nomenclature and also to circulate the same to all concerned authorities, institutions, and stakeholders under their jurisdiction," the order said. It marks, as the government official quoted above explains, a “significant administrative and educational shift, particularly for thousands of students enrolled in what have traditionally been referred to as paramedical courses, as well as for faculty, health institutions and public communication channels" who will now be known by a better-recognised, standardised nomenclature under the “Allied and Healthcare\" category. "This change aligns them with international terminology and may facilitate career mobility and academic parity."

We had discussed in the previous edition of the Legal Informatics Newsletter that developments in AI and automation for legal and public-sector organizations have to be evolutionary, iterative, and trust-based. Rather than strive for wholesale transformation, institutions need to move in small steps that are within grasp, experimenting as they learn, working with stakeholders, and with human agency at the center. This iterative process develops direction and security in environments where resources are limited, information is scattered, and rule requirements are shifting.

The second step is to operationalize this mindset. To organisations new to AI takeup, the starting point must be the development of a lightweight operating model, an operative template setting out how to view, select, and deliver automation in a controlled, transparent, and compliant way. This is not a clean sweep into across-the-board automation but a responsive one that leaves space for experimentation under specified roles, shared accountability, and measurable feedback.

Introduction – The First Practical Step

The advice is to start with a lightweight approach. A lightweight operating model allows teams to operate iteratively without sacrificing consistency and governance. It allows coordination of initial pilots, aligning them with institutional goals, and ensuring each experiment produces reusable results. In combination with a governance baseline, it ensures that even initial efforts already integrate best practice and expected commitments, from data protection and security to transparency and documentation.

What we want to discuss here is, architecting and delivering a minimal but functional operating model, delegating responsibilities, embedding governance from the start, and preparing for compliant, scalable, and sustainable AI deployment. It is building the groundwork for responsible iteration, structure without in a functional yet not too complicated way.

The following discussion is in checklist form, which is intended to help small agile teams to actually start and get organised. 

1. Creating a Lightweight Operating Model

For first-time AI organisations, the first hurdle is not what technology to adopt, but how to organise experimentation such that it is focused, transparent, and safe. A light-touch operating model provides enough structure to guarantee co-ordinated work, allocation of accountability, and capture of outcomes, without instilling bureaucracy or slowing momentum. The goal is to translate the agile and iterative mindset into an operating routine that can grow with maturity.

Purpose and principles: The model is intended to enable small teams to give use cases a try, to learn quickly, and to produce real-world improvement. It is based on a few basic principles: clarity of purpose; designated roles; rapid feedback loops; transparency; and scalability. Each activity traces back to a recognizable need; decisions and reviews are responsibility-owned; progress is measured in iterations; each experiment leaves an auditable trace; and structures are light enough to start small but reusable as maturity grows.

Core structure: The core consists of a cross‑function team of 3 to 5 members that includes the essential fields: a business or service owner who has ownership of the use case and success criteria; legal/compliance and data‑protection stakeholders; IT/data support; and one or two front‑line users who are familiar with day‑to‑day processes. The senior sponsor guides the team and clears obstacles. This working cell meets once a week, performs short sprints of project activity (two to four weeks), and operates on a shared backlog of open questions and tasks.

Cadence and deliverables. Each sprint must produce a concrete, inspectable result: a prototype, a workflow improvement, or a governance artefact such as a data‑flow map. A lean set of documents keeps the effort aligned and reproducible: a one-page use-case charter establishing goal, value, and constraint; a brief risk note of data use, oversight, and exit criteria; a decision log of assumptions and comments; and a rapid review summary per cycle. These are the seeds of the future governance system.

Alignment to day-to-day operations: Thin does not exist in isolation. It fits into existing reporting and approval processes via the minimum number of interfaces to other functions as possible. Coordination, not control, is the goal. Ultimately, as pilots develop and roles become established, this structure can mature to a formal AI management process without having to begin again.

Outcome: Adopted in the correct manner, this model equips institutions with a replicable (iterative and agile) rhythm for responsible experimentation. It gets individuals, decisions, and records aligned in short cycles of learning, creating evidence of what works and what does not work. Above all, it creates institutional confidence, the sense that AI ventures can be managed within the organization's principles, regulatory needs, and available means.

2. Roles, Responsibilities, and Skills

Lightweight operating mode will only be effective if the right people are involved, not too many maybe, but those with responsibility to make decisions and ensure that innovation is done responsibly. In early stages of AI adoption, defining roles and responsibilities provides priority, spreads responsibility, and makes pilot programs concur with both operational as well as legal priorities.

Core functions: At the center of every effort stands a sponsor, normally a department head or senior manager. Sponsorship provides legitimacy, secures resources, and makes certain that AI projects fall within actual institutional goals and not individual technical agendas. They act mainly to overcome hurdles and align with the mission of the organisation and compliance requirements.

Our AI working cell performs the task. It combines varied perspectives: a process/service owner who defines business purpose and measurable outcomes; legal/compliance person ensuring experimentation is compliant with all proper legislation and other relevant regulation; IT/data professional who manages access to systems, data administration, and integration viability; and front-line practitioners who represent actual users and make sure solutions improve actual workflows. An optional project facilitator or agile coach assists with iterations and documentation, providing consistency and feedback loops.

Accountability and decision streams: In small groups, accountability must be explicated - new use cases are sanctioned by the sponsor and accepted or rejected on review by the sponsor; the working cell is accountable for executing, testing, and documenting; and the legal/compliance function has veto when risk or responsibility is not being met. These explicated streams eliminate uncertainty and maintain the integrity of the process and its output.

Building skills through doing: Most organisations at this point have no dedicated AI or automation skills. That is to be expected. The intent is not to appoint experts directly, but to build capability through doing. Every iteration should offer the team something new to learn, about data, risk, usability, or compliance. They accumulate over time into the organisation's internal knowledge base and less use of external consultants or vendors (who don't have the relevant inside of the organisation's workflows and processes to start with.).

Cross-function teamwork: As AI affects different functions, collaboration is required, that he working cell serves as an intermediary between departments. This teamwork not only raises process awareness but also fosters trust regarding the application of technology in a secure fashion. The result is a shift from solitary decision-making to a more integrated, overall problem-solving culture.

Embedding roles into routine activity: Finally, roles are not transitory project employment but are early building blocks of a lasting capacity. As pilots multiply, the organization may expand or formalize some roles, like the assignment of an AI coordinator or creation of an internal regulating forum. The key is to permit structure to grow organically with expanding maturity while sustaining flexibility and creating institutional memory and accountability.

3. Embedding Governance as a Baseline

Then it is crucial to have governance right from the start. In early adoption of AI, governance cannot be an add-on on the legal side, rather it is the building block which ensures experimentation is safe and avoids wasteful and inefficient sidetracks. A self-stated governance baseline (on best practice principles) allows institutions to start governing responsibly without waiting for external certification or elaborate systems of compliance.

Purpose and scope: All digital, automation, and AI activity, from a small proof-of-concept through to operational pilot, come under governance. The aim is straightforward to ensure that all projects serve a proper institutional purpose, protect rights, and are transparent and explainable.

Roles and responsibility: Each project must include an owner named clearly, someone responsible for results, documentation, and communication. Also other roles like sponsor or user must be named clearly.

Documentation and openness: As a means to get the most out of the process, every step should be documented and some questions like the following be answered: What's the objective? What data or instruments were used? What were the choices and why? What were the risks? What were the results and what lessons were learned? Brief summaries are usually enough. The goal is not to satisfy auditors but to enable learning and consistency.

Data integrity and security: Only quality-checked, lawfully acquired, and relevant data may be used. Access must be traceable and controlled; sensitive data anonymised or censored; doubt about origin or validity leads to exclusion.

Risk and governance: Before a new pilot begins, teams complete a short risk and impact questionnaire: Is the aim clear and in proportion? Could outcomes affect rights? Is human scrutiny ensured? Are risks documented? If the answer to any is "no," the pilot is stopped for scrutiny. Governance is not outside policing but within the iterative process, a formalized moment to reflect before going on.

Human oversight and moral boundaries: Not because of the AI Act, but because of the sensible approach. Every automated process needs a human‑in‑the‑loop wherever outputs can impact individuals, legal obligations, or public trust and also for general quality assurance. The ultimate responsibility still rests with the human. The rule base also sets red lines, kinds of applications which require further scrutiny or are legally or ethically off-limits in totum.

Feedback and constant improvement: All review cycles should include consideration of what went well, what slowed progress, and what could be improved. Regulations are accordingly adjusted. Governance thus becomes iterative by turn—accommodating technology, instead of fixating on regulation. Open publication of governance action and pilot findings promotes transparency and enables trust building.

4. Data, Security, and Documentation Essentials

Data is the fuel for automation and AI, and the main source of danger. For organisations embarking on digital transformation, data management, security, and documentation offer the pragmatic starting point for responsible iteration. Instead of attempting to build enterprise-scale data infrastructures upfront, the goal is to establish straightforward, disciplined practices that render experiments reproducible, explainable, and safe.

Understanding what you have: Get a snapshot of available information by identifying where information is, in what format, and with whom it exists. A plain list on an Excel spreadsheet of key data sources, access constraints, and projected uses generally will suffice to begin with. This will expose inconsistencies, duplications, and information that cannot be legally or safely utilized immediately.

Minimum criteria for data usage: A lightweight policy should define some clear-cut rules: use data for a clear and legitimate purpose; guarantee relevance and correctness; protect personal or confidential data through anonymisation or pseudonymisation; avoid datasets where origin or ownership is unclear; and describe each dataset used in a concise, reusable summary, a data card.

Security as a team effort: Adopt fundamental but unyielding habits: store working information in only approved, safe locations; limit access to approved team members; avoid personal devices or external drives; review access every so often and revoke permissions when projects are finished; monitor every data transfer or model output used for making decisions.

Lean documentation techniques: Documentation assists us in several ways since it enables us to remember our thinking process and output but also facilitates accountability. Each iteration should yield succinct, well-structured summaries that can be shared between projects and create a traceable chain of reasoning that enables anyone to see what is done and why. Document detail should also be proportional to risk in the sense that the greater the level of potential risk we see, the greater the level of detail we are going to expect in documentation. 5. Risk Management, Oversight, and Feedback Loops

Iteration only happens when learning is deliberate. Feedback loops in first‑cut automation and AI projects are the machinery that transforms experimenting into structured progress. They allow organisations to observe what is successful, what is not, and what needs to be transformed, before small errors become large ones. With clearly defined oversight rituals, feedback is the optimum control system for the organisation.

Feedback as an instrument for learning: Each pilot or cycle has a short review window where results are measured against goals, risks, and user satisfaction. Feedback is collected systematically, not only by developers and managers but also from users or stakeholders affected by the system. Typical questions: Did the result accomplish its intended purpose? How can one do it differently next time? Such reflection makes each cycle a paper learning component.

Risk management as a constant practice: Instead of occasional checks, use a straightforward constant awareness model: identify possible risks before each iteration; monitor them while testing; validate results at the end of each sprint; adjust controls or information as needed. Focus on risks that may affect people, fairness, or compliance; don't burden teams with minor technical uncertainties. Risk management for AI adoption also needs to be acquired and its best in the field.

Bureaucracy-free monitoring: Keep it simple, but effective. Monitoring committees would be composed of representatives from legal, IT, and operations, preferably the same cross-functional members of the AI working cell.

Internal and external transparency: Release review findings through concise progress reports to the management and involved departments. Where there is an effect on clients, inform them about what is taking place. Sharing information strengthens the confidence with workers, clients and partners and demonstrates a transparent culture.

Institutionalizing the loop: Over time, monitoring, risk assessment, feedback, and feed-forward become a cyclic routine, rather than independent events. One informs the next; documentation provides continuity; monitoring closes one loop and starts the next. This circular process allows institutions to innovate within boundaries that they understand and can manage.

6. Procurement, Partnership, and Build‑versus‑Buy Strategy

Early in automation and AI, most organizations resort to third-party vendors for out-of-the-box solutions. While this may speed up results, it's extremely costly, breeds dependency, limited flexibility, and ambiguous control of data and intellectual property. A better way is to balance purchasing, partnering, and building, using the same principles of the lightweight operating model: agility, transparency, and sovereignty.

Procurement as extension of governance: Procurement decides how technology enters the organisation and on what terms it operates. All the external interactions must follow the same governance rules that apply internally: clearly stated purpose, open deliverables, risk documented, and responsibility for effects.

Build, buy, or partner: The default question is not "Which vendor do we use?" but "What do we build, what do we buy, and where do we partner with?"

Build when the data are sensitive, integration is essential, or long‑term control is essential; acquire when established, well documented and well‑developed low‑risk building blocks exist; partner when specialist expertise is needed for a short term to search for opportunities, test feasibility, or create staff.

This threefold approach prevents premature lock‑in and maintains each investment in support of internal capability.".

Buy components not end-to-end solutions: All sellers at this point in AI development are developing and learning as well.

End-to-end solutions with ease of deployment typically do not exist in the legal realm. But there are plenty of proven technology solutions that can be utilized and taken advantage of so that AI applications don't have to be crafted from scratch. These consist of LLM models, OCR, NLP, ML tools or corresponding databases for structured data. Data, IP, and sovereignty protection: Every contract or partnership must protect assets and obligations: the organisation retains property rights to data, models, and resultant outputs; vendor usage of data is limited, auditable, and contractually locked; portability and interoperability must apply; and no vendor has any right to make use of organisational data for its own training or business exploitation purposes without specific written consent.

Iterative procurement and co‑development: Start with small purchases, discovery, prototype, pilot and review outcomes after each iteration. If capacity within becomes greater, shift the balance to developing and maintaining solutions in‑house. If complexity does not reduce, partner selectively but under formal management. This flexibility allows institutions to respond as skill, information, and infrastructure change.

7. Scaling the Model: From Pilots to Practice

The final aim of scaling is not to automate everything at once but to grow tiny workflows fully and learn from them. By encapsulating a task end-to-end, from data input to human-verified output, organizations create a contained environment in which processes and humans mature together. Each finished workflow becomes a template for the next one, allowing step-by-step expansion department by department or domain by domain while always having control and monitoring.

Emphasize contained but complete processes: Scaling begins with selecting processes that are narrow in scope but complete in function, like automating document intake and categorization, creating boilerplate notices, or verifying case metadata. All can be tackled by a small cross‑functional team and controlled through the baseline defined. Getting from start to finish in a process demonstrates how data travels, where human decision-making enters the picture, and how automation interacts with real-world constraints.

Learning through end-to-end experience: Building contained processes provides experiential, evidence-based learning. It reveals integration gaps, dependency issues, and compliance milestones that aren't uncovered in stand-alone pilots. Much more useful, it lets team members get experience using automation as a normal part of work, not as some outside project, creating operational and cultural readiness for using this in the future on bigger or higher-stakes areas.

Creating reusable patterns: Each completed workflow serves as a model for repeat and growth. Risk notes, feedback reports, and documentation serve as a template for similar tasks elsewhere in the organisation. A repository of tested components to the organisational standards is established over time. This in-house knowledge base permits growth without diminishment of quality or governance integrity and cannot be provided by third-party vendors.

Expanding step by step: Once smaller workflows run reliably, connect them together, first within similar tasks within the same department and then between organisational functions.

Organisational capability development: Through this method, scaling is growth driven by learning and not technical rollout. Teams become better familiar with their processes, data, and decision points. They also become more self-assured in employing governance by themselves. Departments begin to share methods and tools, building a common solution to automation. The result is an organisation that develops digital capability naturally, incrementally, one workflow, one lesson, one success at a time.

Conclusion 

 From Structure to Sovereignty The transformation to AI and automation in the public and legal spheres begins not with large systems or total digital transformation.

It begins with structure and knowledge. A light-weight operating model and a bare‑minimum, self‑driven governance foundation give organisations the ability to act, to experiment in safety, to learn iteratively, and to replicate success from one process to another. By beginning with end-to-end whole but bounded workflows, we can create small, end-to-end success that is learning on the motion of data, where human judgment is called for, and how compliance can be gotten into automation. Each iteration instills confidence and capability, dispelling uncertainty to evidence. With the passage of time, these repeating patterns grow into an operational model that can be instantiated company-wide across departments and functions without sacrificing flexibility.

Patna will be able to see a new era in healthcare, as Khan Sir, popular for his teaching and public service, enters the field of medicine. The new hospital plans to provide basic treatments at affordable prices, with emphasis on accessibility to all sections of society.

Khan Sir, originally known as Faizal Khan, is a renowned teacher from Patna, Bihar. He rose to fame teaching difficult topics very simplistically, particularly his online lectures. He has also assisted numerous disadvantaged students by providing free guidance and counsel. Now, he is utilizing his expertise and clout differently—making healthcare economical and available to all, particularly those who cannot afford it.

Operation theatre and dialysis available for operation

The hospital operation theatre and dialysis have been prepared and fully equipped. The Patna Press reports that Khan Sir himself supervised the facilities, checking surgical machines, patient wards, and the dialysis machines, and also issued instructions to staff members regarding right-now upgrades to the highest standards.

"Each citizen should have access to medical care. Here, it would be less expensive than that in government-run hospitals," Khan Sir went on, visiting, according to Patna Press.

Besides dialysis, the hospital will also have a blood bank and cancer treatment units, suggesting an enhancement of commitment towards complete, affordable care.

Operation theatre revamped for safety

Among the best things the project achieved is the new operation theater. News 18 reported that in the first draft there were glossy tiles, which Khan Sir realized later posed a threat to surgical hygiene. Quoting Patna Press, he stated: "When two tiles meet, their narrow crevice becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Even a mustard seed can have thousands of them."

Owing to this, the tiles were substituted with medical-grade anti-infection mats. These marble-type mats are better for surgery and easier to clean, providing a sterile setup.

Dialysis centre fully operational

The dialysis unit has been done and operational, equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and stringent infection control measures, says the Patna Press. Khan Sir himself experimented with equipment in the presence of medical professionals to be in patient-care-ready position.

Affordable treatment for all

Khan Sir's new hospital has a definite purpose– to make health affordable to all at an affordable price. He does not want anyone, even the most poor family, to go without proper health care due to expenses. The hospital will offer basic services such as dialysis, surgery, and check-ups at very low prices, so no one will have to miss out on treatment because they cannot afford it.

Affordable compared to government hospitals

Government hospitals are famous for low-cost treatment, but they're congested and patients have to wait for hours to receive assistance. Doctors are sometimes short or equipment is unavailable. Khan Sir wants to transform it. His new hospital will offer the same treatments– but quicker, cleaner, and even more affordable than government hospitals.

News reports that dialysis and minor procedures will be less expensive than what most government hospitals currently charge. Simple and straightforward billing will also be offered by the hospital, such that patients are well aware of what they are paying for. The aspiration is to have low costs and quality care all under one roof.

Reflected from real struggles

Khan Sir has always been a man of the masses– either guiding the students or helping poor families in need during the bad times. He himself witnessed how difficult it is for most people in Patna to receive good medical care. So, he decided to enter the healthcare profession– to provide a platform where the most deserving ones are catered to without hesitation or delay.

In a landmark decision affecting thousands of students, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has instructed all Indian universities and colleges to discontinue healthcare and allied courses through distance learning and online modes from July 2025. The decision, cleared in UGC's 592nd meeting on July 23, 2025, was to preserve the quality and sanctity of medical and allied studies in India.

UGC officials have stated that medical courses require experiential learning, laboratory exposure, and patient exposure, which cannot be done in place of online learning. The controversy was initiated while an earlier April 2025 Distance Education Bureau Working Group meeting had complained about the poor standards of practice in online medical courses.

Based on education figures, more than 1.5 million students take allied health courses every year, embracing such subjects as physiotherapy, dietetics, and medical laboratory science. The experts agree that without exposure to the practical aspects, the graduates will not be best placed for employment in clinics.

All institutes operating these programs on Open and Distance Learning (ODL) or online mode are required to suspend new admissions from the July–August 2025 session. The online courses already in place shall be made invalid, effectively stopping new admissions. 

Enrolled students in intimated online courses could be permitted to finish their courses, although the universities will have to adhere strictly to UGC guidelines. Institutions have been directed by the Commission to intimate directly modifications to students and offer choices for offline or hybrid mode.

Despite the constraint of the ban on flexibility for working professionals and e-learners, officials of UGC suggest that learning on campus facilitates better employability. Industry data reveal that 85% of hospitals seek candidates who have clinical experience and classroom training.

The UGC decision is in tune with its quality-oriented, practical healthcare education. The emphasis now is on developing work-capable, competent professionals with intensive, experiential learning as India sets itself the task of developing 2.4 million more health workers by 2030.

It's survival to remain up-to-date in an era where reputation shifts with the click of a headline. PR firms can utilize media monitoring tools to monitor what people are saying in news and broadcast media. By 2025, there is no way traditional monitoring will suffice with so much content and the rapid speed of news. This guide illustrates the top tools for media monitoring in order to guard your brand reputation and be ahead of breaking trends.

As per the Meltwater State of PR & Comms 2025, an average brand is referenced in online media every 3.2 seconds in 2025. Towards the end of this year, there would be over 2.5 million online publications, which increases the issue of managing the media image of a company to a large and evolving one. The media explosion encompasses mainstream news websites, specialist blogs, thought leader columns, and digital-first sites, so it is harder than ever before to monitor your reputation effectively.

The article aims to give our hand-picked lists of tools our PR experts use daily to watch news and keep tabs on important mentions, offering perspectives on which choices suit various business requirements.

Today's media monitoring follows the development of stories, the coverage of competitors, and the influence of trends on your brand. It detects and quantifies mentions on news, television, radio, industry web sites, and social media. It helps you discover media opportunities, gauge PR ROI, build stronger media relations, and control crises — all directly connected to business outcomes. We will present the most effective media monitoring tools on the market in the next sections and describe how to select them.

Free Tools: Minimal features, limited platforms, low-level reporting.

Paid Tools: Multi-platform coverage, notification services, sentiment, reporting.

Premium Tools: Full coverage (including broadcast and print), data analysis, AI, and compliance features.

Speed, accuracy and context are what business needs from their tools in a world where news cycles spin ever faster through the churn of misinformation. Whether it's local reputation management or global coverage, the right kind of tool makes your PR team shift seamlessly from monitor to action in real time.

IIM Calcutta reported an average monthly stipend at Rs 1.85 lakh, while the median stipend stood at Rs 2 lakh a month for the summer placement season.

IIM Calcutta has achieved 100 per cent placement for summer internships in 2026 for its 62nd MBA batch. A total of more than 520 offers were received for 465 students by 154 firms within seven days of placement activities.

The institute said the entire placement process was completed in hybrid mode. In all, 183 recruiters participated in the placement drive, including many first-time participants alongside regular recruitment partners. The structured cluster-cohort model, along with policies such as the ‘dream offer’, ensured an optimal fit between students and recruiters”, making it, as the institute described, “a win-win for both sides.”

Average monthly stipend of Rs 1.85 lakh

IIM-Calcutta reported that the average monthly stipend during summer placement season stood at Rs 1.85 lakh, while the median stipend was Rs 2 lakh per month. This year, the highest domestic stipend was Rs 4.5 lakh a month, while the highest international stipend reached Rs 6 lakh a month.

That the top 5% of students at IIM Calcutta received an average of Rs 3.4 lakh per month reflects strong market demand for its MBA talent. Sectoral trends IIM Calcutta said the summer placement season at the institute saw offers from sectors like consulting, finance, FMCG, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, software, and technology. Besides the legacy recruiters tapping into the pool of students at the institute, multiple new domestic and international firms participated in the process for the first time. The institute said that a large and strong network of alumni helped in making the recruiters' interaction much stronger for the smooth placements of all. The sustained relationship between the alumni, faculty and corporate partners further added momentum to the process of achieving a single objective of 100% placement across all cohorts. Commenting on the feat, Professor Ritu Mehta, Chairperson of Placement Activities at IIM Calcutta said, "The performance of the 62nd batch MBA students resulted in yet another year of excellent summer placements. We are grateful to the recruiters for continuing to believe in our students and trust our academic processes." Previous session also recorded 100 per cent placement In the previous session, for the 61st MBA batch, IIM Calcutta had achieved full summer internship placements, wherein all 475 students got placed with a total of 564 offers from 175 companies across sectors. According to the institute, the median stipend stood at Rs 2 lakh per month, while the average stipend was Rs 1.89 lakh per month, both record highs for IIM Calcutta then. The highest domestic stipend reached Rs 3.67 lakh per month, whereas international recruiters offered stipends as high as Rs 6.75 lakh per month.

Acceleration in the agriculture sector would not be complete without India's quest to emerge as a $10 trillion economy by 2047. According to industry experts at the CII Northern Region Agri Inputs Summit, agriculture needs to grow from about $450 billion now to $1 trillion in order to contribute toward the economic vision of India. With almost 46% of India's population dependent on agriculture, the share of this sector in GDP remains close to 15%, indicating an imperative need for policy reforms and technology adoption besides more investments.

Technology and policy reforms can power the next Green Revolution in India.

Ajay Rana, chairman of the CII Northern Regional Committee on Agriculture and also head of the Federation of Seed Industry of India, said scientific innovation has already demonstrated transformative impact. Adoption of hybrid maize seed has for instance jumped from 15-20% to almost 90% in the last two decades, proof that technology-driven policy can multiply farm productivity. For the full realization of agriculture's potential, he went on to say, widespread adoption of technology, modern agri-inputs, and farmer-centric innovation would be required.

India needs clear, consistent, science-based agri policies

The summit saw demands for predictable and science-based regulatory frameworks from various participants. Rana also proposed a National Agricultural Technology Council to ensure harmonisation of policies between Centre and states on time-bound approvals on seeds, crop protection products, and new farming technologies. Inconsistent state regulations, coupled with sudden bans, discourage private investment in this sector, leading to slow innovation in agri-inputs, experts said. Four Pillars of Rural Growth: “Seed to Market” Strategy Emphasising adherence to the government's vision of "Seed to Market" in enhancing rural resilience, speakers outlined four pillars to agricultural empowerment-seed, insurance, credit (bank), and market access-which would, over time, empower farmers to be more productive, reduce their risk, and have better income stability. Agri-Input Sector Could Double to $120 Billion Long-term policy reforms could double the value of the agri-input industry from $60 billion to $120 billion, increase exports, and make agriculture a core driver of national growth, say experts.

The National Institute of Design (NID) continues to strengthen its global presence by virtue of a broad network of global as well as collaborative programmes. Ranked by Business Week (USA) amongst the Top 25 European & Asian Design Programmes (2006, 2007) and amongst the Top 30 design colleges globally by Ranker in 2014, NID has continued to adhere to excellence in learning as well as creative partnerships with world-class international design schools.

Faculty and Research Collaboration

Since NID is approaching six decades of designing learning in India, faculty exchange has emerged as one of the prime focus areas. Short- and long-term faculty exchange programs with its associate universities are fostered by the institute to develop cross-cultural learning and encourage research conversation in design. Research remains the pillar of NID's academic culture.

NID Press and Publications

NID's publishing arm, NID Press, chronicles the institute's philosophy of design and innovations in the form of books, monographs, catalogues, and newsletters. Its premier publication, The Trellis, focuses on research work, archival research, interviews, and book reviews with open invitations for contributions from both the faculty and students globally.

Collaborative Workshops and Open Electives

Through its Continuing Education Programmes (CEP), NID conducts short-duration workshops and collaborative training programmes bringing design in touch with industry, commerce, and service sectors. Visiting professors from partner institutions often co-conduct the workshops with the facilitators, facilitating cross-learning.

NID also organizes its Open Electives every year in January–February, where senior students from all disciplines are welcomed to participate in two-week multidisciplinary design workshops. International students and faculty are also welcomed, helping in creative exchange and experimentation.

Student Exchange Opportunities

NID offers semester-long exchange student programs typically between January to May during which the participants have the opportunity to undergo India's design ecosystem. The exchange requests are processed by the home institutions' respective International Offices in accordance with regulations that have been established.

Through these initiatives, NID continues to be at the vanguard of international design education by fusing Indian creativity with international cooperation to create the future generation of innovative thinkers and researchers.

The waitlist movement of IIM continues to be one of the most eagerly awaited stages for MBA hopefuls following the Common Admission Process (CAP) and final results of admissions. Thousands of applicants every year eagerly wait as the Indian Institutes of Management publish waitlist movement reports, typically extending between May to July.

Waitlist movement takes place when the initially shortlisted candidates reject admission invitations, and this drives IIMs to invite the next available candidates from the waitlist. This movement is quite different across different IIMs, categories, and years of admissions.

Upper IIMs (A, B, C, L, K, I) tend to observe minimum movement due to greater acceptance by higher-ranked candidates. For the year 2025 admissions, candidates should look forward to several rounds of waitlist movements in May-July 2025.

Younger IIMs and baby IIMs, however, tend to have substantial waitlist movement as plenty of aspirants upgrade to older IIMs or more prestigious non-IIM institutes.

Category-wise variations are observed — SC, ST, and OBC categories, being more heterogeneous in nature, witness greater waitlist movements owing to different patterns of acceptances and seats available.

Factors that Impact Waitlist Movement

There are various factors that determine the extent of movement at the waitlist at every IIM:

Acceptance Rate – When a majority of high-calibre candidates accept offers at top IIMs, movement is reduced.

Seat Intake – B-schools with bigger batch sizes (such as IIM Rohtak or IIM Indore) exhibit wider movement.

Alternative Offers – Offers to ISB, XLRI, FMS, SPJIMR, or abroad international B-schools tend to create openings at IIMs.

Reservation Policies – Category-wise allotments may lead to disproportionate movement across General, EWS, OBC, SC, and ST lists.

As competition becomes fiercer year on year, knowing the IIM waitlist movement 2025 trend can assist applicants in estimating their prospects better and making effective backup plans.

The government has stepped into actions in response to inquiries about fee hikes in top institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and central universities as part of a Parliament inquiry. Even as they assured that some of the colleges have revised their fee structure, the government asserted there are different schemes of waivers and grants of financial aid provided to students from marginalized communities. According to official figures, fees for undergraduate courses in IITs were doubled in 2016 from ₹90,000 to ₹2 lakh a year, while fees for MBA courses at top IIMs have crossed more than ₹20 lakh.

For IIMs, the schemes of financial assistance vary in institutions. Most of the IIMs offer need-based tuition fee scholarship to students of the lower-income group and extra scholarships to meritorious students by the Ministry of Education and external funding agencies. Central universities offer meric-cum-means scholarships, SC/ST scholarships, and fee waivers to meritorious students. 

IIT Fee Hike Details

The Parliament response did admit that a few IITs have raised their fees in the last few years. The course fee of the undergraduate course was raised in 2016 from ₹90,000 to ₹2 lakh per year for general category students. SC, ST, and PwD students remain exempt from full fee concessions, while partial concessions are given to EWS students. Even M.Tech and PhD courses have witnessed time-to-time fee hikes amongst IITs.

In the same vein, IIMs have innovatively restructured their fees from time to time, and fees for flagship MBA programs in leading IIMs are now touching ₹20 lakh. Yet economically weaker sections of society get considerable financial assistance so that deserving students are not deprived of opportunities because of fiscal limitations.

Govt's Stand on Accessibility

The Ministry of Education reaffirmed that affordability and accessibility are issues of prime importance. It claimed that the top institutions are still providing different types of scholarships, interest-free loan facilities, and need-based finance to ensure that students from all socio-economic backgrounds can access quality higher education with no economic burden. The response of government is to balance fiscal sustainability of institutions with inclusivity to ensure that meritorious students can still get access to education in India's best institutions irrespective of occasional fee adjustments.

The National Scholarship Scheme, initiated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is a program that seeks to empower Scheduled Tribe (ST) students by giving them complete financial support in seeking higher education in India's best institutes. The scheme is meant to motivate bright ST students to attend undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various professional fields like Engineering, Management, Medicine, Law, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

100% Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship

This 100% funded Central Sector Scheme is undertaken by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It addresses all the notified and recognized institutions' approved courses. The award of the scholarship extends until the completion of the whole course, subject to maintaining satisfactory academic progress, as attested by the institute.

But the students availing of this scholarship are not entitled to receive any other Central or State scholarship during the same course.

 The income is derived by totaling the gross income of both parents from all sources — salary, agriculture, business, property, or any other source.

Important provisions are

If both parents earn, their combined income is considered.

In case of a single parent, only that parent’s income is counted.

For orphans supported by a guardian, the income limit does not apply.

For married students, the spouse’s income is added to the family income.

The certificate of income must be submitted only once at the time of admission. For salaried workers, Form 16 is accepted, whereas for others, certificates issued by the specific State or UT authority are acceptable.

Premier Institutions and Course Coverage

A total of 252 top institutions in India have been notified under the scheme currently (Annexure-I). They are prestigious IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, National Law Universities, and other high-ranked government colleges. Only those students from these institutions who are admitted on the basis of merit are eligible for the scholarship. Those admitted under management quota in private colleges are not included.

Providing Equity in Education

National Scholarship Scheme is an historic initiative for preventing good ST students from pursuing world-class education due to financial constraints. By paying for tuition fees, living expenses, and study expenses, the scheme provides opportunities for tribal youth to succeed in competitive, high-impact professional careers — building a stronger, more diverse India.

A Nation at a Talent Crossroads

Consider a young PhD scholar hunched over her bench in an Indian university laboratory late into the night. She is a first-generation learner and one of the brightest minds on campus. Yet, her day was defined not by research breakthroughs but by the public humiliation meted out by a supervisor-ideas dismissed, confidence eroded. In her inbox lies an offer from a European university: better funding, yes, but more importantly, a culture of respect, mentorship, and intellectual freedom. She is ready to leave-not for money but for dignity.

Her story is not an exception but a mirror to Indian academia.

We see a slow-burn crisis: casual caste and regional slurs brushed off as "jokes," closed-door decisions benefiting favourites, and ad-hoc rulemaking that shifts with power centres. Instead of curiosity, fear; instead of initiative, compliance. It is devastatingly unfortunate. Between 60,000–75,000 highly trained graduates—including IIT engineers and specialised researchers—leave India every year, draining $35–50 billion worth of talent and public investment annually. Even within the system, attrition is high, with the same individuals rotating in leadership roles to maintain the same insular circle.

This is not an accident; this is engineered through campus culture. And culture is a leadership choice.

It is now time for India to reverse this trajectory by turning away from punitive, hierarchical models of leadership and embracing Positive Leadership: a research-led, values-driven approach that creates "heliotropic campuses"-institutions that attract and retain talent the way a sunflower instinctively turns toward the sun.

The Shadow Campus: Understanding the Roots of Toxicity

Toxicity on campus is not an act; it's a system. It has an architecture that can be mapped across five dimensions:

Structural toxicity means lack of clear SOPs on admissions, hiring, grants or grievances that allows arbitrariness and favouritism.

Behavioral toxicity: micro-aggressions, public shaming, 'gotcha' emails, and unprofessional WhatsApp groups which humiliate rather than guide.

Incentive Toxicity: Rewarding loyalty to authority and not integrity or ingenuity. Neglecting mentorship and community-building work.

Process Toxicity: Paperwork for grievance mechanisms, delayed redressal, and informal punishment for speaking up.

Information Toxicity: Hoarding, rumour-driven communication, and opacity that breeds mistrust and silence.

Both these patterns emerge from the dominator culture that starts with student ragging and goes right up to senior academic bullying-two faces of the same disease: un-contained power. The worst brunt of this is suffered by marginalized students, particularly those from SC, ST, and OBC communities that face subtle and overt discrimination masquerading as meritocratic evaluation.

The most tragic consequence is the loss of future mentors. Those who leave-ethical, globally exposed scholars-are the very people who could have transformed Indian academia. And their absence creates leadership vacuums filled by people who run and support the toxic system. India is losing not just talent but reformers.

The Turn Toward the Sun: The Case for Positive Leadership

Positive Leadership represents a shift in focus-from faultfinding to strength-building, from fear-based compliance to purpose-driven excellence. Rooted in behavioral science, it is inspired by the heliotropic effect: the inborn tendency of living systems to move toward sources of nourishment and away from harm.

Positive leaders make a conscious effort to gratify the three basic psychological needs that undergird motivation: autonomy, competence, and belonging. This approach rests on four pillars:

Positive Climate: There is a culture of compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness; failing is an opportunity to learn.

Positive Relationships: High-trust networks across hierarchy that foster collaboration over competition.

Positive Communication – Public appreciation, private correction, transparent dialogue.

Positive meaning: daily activities linked to a higher purpose that inspires excellence beyond the job description.

From Day One to Year One: A Blueprint for Change

Change doesn't have to be about massive budgets; it needs committed leadership and small, continuous actions:

Immediate Actions (First 30 Days): Stop the Harm

Acknowledge past issues openly.

Ensure safe and confidential reporting channels.

Freeze discretionary decision-making. Require written justification.

Start every meeting with genuine appreciation.

Day 31–90: Embed Equity in Systems

• Publish transparent SOPs on hiring, appraisal, grants, and grievances.
• Replace annual performance "judgments" with coaching-based growth plans.
• Introduce mentor pairs for junior faculty in order to avoid supervisory misuse.

Day 91–180: Default to Positivity

• Establish a common mission statement to which the team goals are aligned.
• Measure psychological safety: publish results and actions.
• Recognize invisible emotional and community labor.

6–12 Months: Ensure Change Outlives the Leader

• Track early-warning culture indicators publicly.

Commission third-party culture audits annually. Create "belonging moats" of opportunities for growth, sabbaticals, micro-grants, and gratitude rituals. Conclusion: India needs to be a sun and not a sieve. India is at an inflection point. Will its institutions remain sieves, filtering talent to enrich other countries? Or will they be suns, spreading safety, dignity, and intellectual joy? Positive Leadership is not a soft ideal; it is a strategic national imperative. It is cost-effective, human-centred, and innovation-led. Cultures change not by memo but through rituals, systems, and everyday choices that privilege respect over fear. A campus becomes a sun the day its leaders choose fairness over favour, coaching over criticism, and purpose over power. It all begins with one act: choose trust.

Some resources for self-reading:

• Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek: Focuses on creating a "circle of safety" in leadership to foster trust and cooperation.
• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek: Explores how to lead by being driven by purpose, which inspires action.
• Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown: Tackles vulnerability, courage, and empathy as essential leadership qualities.
• The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Leaders Can Bring Out the Best in People by Jon Gordon: Advocates for cultivating optimism and a positive mindset to bring out the best in others.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey: A classic on personal and professional effectiveness that is fundamental for good leadership.

Indian women are creating a new history about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), silently yet boldly breaking Bahu-nomic culture which is a social and cultural construct that historically defined women as creatures who are primarily at home, are married, have babies and do every labour for the family rather than pursue careers and independence. Today, Indian women are shattering these barriers and actually making a difference in the areas that were considered male-dominat, especially in advanced spheres such as artificial intelligence (AI).

The "Bahu-nomic Tradition": A Modern Demand 

The term Bahu-nomic is derived by combining the word Bahu (daughter-in-law) and economic. This is a new trending word used on social media by people who value the efforts of an unpaid househelp (married woman). Most Indian families believed that the ambitions of women other than housework came second. Early marriage, homemaking and subordination were greatly valued by the cultural norms and education was mostly restricted to that which could be regarded as fitting a housewife or educator. As society evolved, the demands increased. Women are now asked to earn as well as take care of the family. Once when women were only bothered for dowry has now transformed into being bullied and forced to manage kids, office, and house, and also split the expenses like electricity bill, EMIs, etc. 

India surely changed its behaviour towards women after invaders did their best to promote their culture and beliefs. This deeply ingrained social structure influenced the society, producing a palpable gap in female education and employment, particularly in elite and male-dominated professions like engineering or technology. Women in science, technology, and engineering were exceptional cases, and those who were able to venture into these areas were not received with trust, were looked down upon, and were not supported by the institutions.

Changing Tides: Women seeking STEM in India

Today, the whole scenario is changing fast. India now boasts one of the highest percentages of women STEM graduates globally which is approximately 43% according to the latest surveys. This is a great turn around of a nation that used to be miles behind. The girls of all social and economic backgrounds including rural and semi-urban are now taking up science and mathematics streams in schools with government programs, scholarships and a new attitude towards parents. 

Even after this progress, there is a paradox that is critical. It is only 27% of these graduates who are able to work in STEM industries. This is because of work prejudices in the workplace, pressures in the society concerning marriage and child care, rigid work settings, which fail to support women with their special needs, and the Bahu-nomic thinking that demands women to earn as well as take care of home! The other problems aren’t as concerning as the last one due to the fact that women are Shakti, the creator, who doesn’t complain instead creates a way for herself. Someone said it correctly, the giver is always exploited. However, these barriers are being overcome by the sheer force of will of numerous women, who are making their career in AI, robotics, biotechnology, and other high-tech STEM industries. 

Women in Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies

The technological future of India is artificial intelligence, which is the epitome of the modern era of innovation. The AI industry was traditionally dominated by males, nowadays women are proliferating in top positions, inventing disruptive algorithms, and startups that solve societal issues are being launched.

In India, the women AI practitioners are building solutions that go beyond healthcare diagnosing to language translation, providing work opportunities, and helping the world as a whole to develop technologically. They are not symbolic but substantive, influencing the discussion of AI ethics and AI policy with a lens that is, in most cases, an expression of inclusiveness and  empathy.

Consciously developed educational programs on AI, machine learning, data science, and related areas have been developed to ensure that more women enrol and this has been achieved through the involvement of universities, industry leaders, and the government. These are attempts to close the leaky pipeline -the expression of the loss of women over time through STEM education to work.

Breaking the Leaky Pipeline: Organizational and Social Action.

In addition to personal determination, it is necessary to solve the gender gap in STEM on a system level. Gender friendly policies are being adopted by institutions: flexible work schedules, better maternity leave, a harassment-free environment and safe workplace, and mentorship programs that are specifically designed to suit women.

Stereotypes that present the division between women and men work are being demolished at the community level. The reforms in education have brought on concrete, investigative based STEM learning in education that has involved girls in equal measure as boys. Inclusive STEM skills are developed in government schemes such as Atal Innovation Mission and Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan. 

The Greater Effect: Women Bucking the Conventional Story.

The emergence of female scientists in STEM is a social uprising that questions the principles of the Bahu-nomic tradition, re-defining womanhood as a state of intellect, independence and professional ambition. Such women are role models to their communities where they motivate families to equally appreciate education and where they motivate girls to dream of a life beyond the normal duties.

These women are changing policy and culture as they rise the ladder in leadership, pushing the agenda of greater gender equality. Their achievements draw attention to the economic and social advantages of diversity - more innovative and more efficient in finding solutions and growing more inclusive.

Women Beyond STEM 

Indian women across diverse fields are also breaking free from the Bahu-nomic tradition that confines them to unpaid domestic labor and undervalued work. Traditionally, much of women’s contributions inside households like cooking, cleaning, caregiving, have remained invisible and uncompensated, perpetuating economic and social dependency. Today, women are gaining greater economic and social control by penetrating formal working environments, business start-ups and top management positions, requiring acknowledgement and suitable payment..

This shift not only challenges deep-rooted stereotypes but also redefines the value of women’s labor in society. By balancing both paid careers and household responsibilities, women are disrupting centuries-old norms of unpaid labor, creating a ripple effect that moves toward equitable gender roles at home and in the economy.

Moving from Bahu-Nomic to Bias-Phobic Society 

India is at a critical point of becoming gender equal in the STEM sectors. Although many pockets of society continue to be influenced by societal norms with their basis in Bahu-nomic traditions, the wave of women becoming scientists, engineers, engineers, and mathematicians gives hope and promise. Not only are they swamping classrooms or laboratories but they are literally carving out the technological future of India proving that talent is not limited to gender or tradition overcomes tradition.

With this change evident to educators, policymakers, students, and society overall it is obvious that women empowerment in STEM is not just an issue of equality but a strategic requirement to the development of India in the 21st century. 

As more women rise, inspire, and lead, the ripple effect will continue to break old norms & boundations, and build a future where every woman can dream big and achieve even bigger. 

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About the Author

Kanishka, a versatile content writer and acclaimed poetess from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, combines her passion for creativity with a strong commitment to education. Beyond crafting compelling narratives, she is dedicated to enlightening readers by sharing insights and knowledge they often don’t encounter elsewhere. She has been featured in several national and international online magazines, and anthologies. Her talent and dedication to literature have earned her two national records— one for composing the longest reverse poem and another for compiling an all-female anthology that celebrates women’s voices. Her love for storytelling, philosophies, and mythologies fuels her mission to inspire and educate, shaping minds through the power of words and knowledge.

Literacy in the 21st century is beyond reading and writing. Code, the secretive programming that is in charge of everything from mobile applications to Mars rovers, has silently assumed the role of this new literacy. In order to navigate and shape the digital world, students and teachers must learn to think in code, rather than simply consume technology. 

The focus of coding is not only to make one a software engineer. It educates on managing problems, expressing ideas and thinking logically in a world that is data-driven. Nautaro (2018) once quoted a saying by author and investor, Naval Ravikant, who said, Coding is the new literacy. Individuals who read and write using this logical language will define what is to come and what is about to happen.

The New Literacy of Digital Era 

Earlier, civilizations and societies were able to share stories and build their societies using written languages in the form of poetry, novel, novella, songs,  etc. In the modern world, the purpose of code is the same, allowing ideas to become digitalized. Across industries, coding is directly shaping art, science, finance, and even politics. For instance, AI editing tools are used by filmmakers, Python scripts are used in the analysis of DNA by biologists, and the creation of interactive online lessons is done by a teacher, all with the help of code (directly or indirectly).

Code learning is not just a way to know how computers work, but it also provides an understanding of how thought processes work. Coding demands accuracy, patience and ingenuity, which is crucial in contemporary learning. When students debug a simple program, they are exposed to a training of logic and persistence to learn to keep repeating until they detect solutions.

Coding Is an Art of Expression

Code seems to most people to be mechanical, even cold. However, the reality is that coding is also one more storytelling. Poets, as much as they reuse words to create emotions, are programmers who are arranging logic to make ideas come to life be it in the form of game, application, or even artificial intelligence. One of MIT professors, Mitchel Resnick, a founder of Scratch, goes on to explain that coding is not only about solving problems, but also about expressing yourself and making things that matter to you.

The student who creates a mobile app on clean water awareness is not any less an artist than the novelist or painter. They are narrating a story with a code change digitally.

Why Students and Teachers should Learn to Code

Coding fluency is emerging as an important issue as language fluency. According to the reports by the World Economic Forum, by the year 2030, 85 percent of the jobs of the future will need to be digital, and many will necessitate at least some rudimentary skill in either programming or some kind of computational thinking. However, the vast majority of students leave without having any coding experience.

It is time schools redefined the meaning of being literate. In the same way that reading and writing were breaking minds in the Industrial Era, coding can unleash power in students of the ⁙ AI revolution. Coding is already being made a main subject at the primary levels by governments such as the UK, Singapore, and even Rwanda. This change was also appreciated in the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) of India- the policy promoted the development of computational thinking at the earliest level.

To the educators, the adoption of coding does not imply that one should drop the old subjects, but enhance them. Algorithms make Math interactive. Data visualization makes history interesting. Even art is developing with digital design. A teacher who teaches students to code learns together with the students forming a strong classroom of creators rather than consumers.

The Human Code Behind the Machine

Still, coding education isn’t only about writing syntax, it’s about ethics, empathy, and inclusion. As AI systems increasingly influence decisions in hiring, law, and healthcare, understanding how algorithms work becomes a civic duty. If literacy once helped societies hold governments accountable, coding literacy helps us hold algorithms accountable.

By teaching students to code responsibly, we teach them to question how technology shapes our values, privacy, and fairness. That’s the essence of modern civic literacy.

Coding Is the Literacy of Empowerment

In the end, the ability to code is less about machines and more about empowerment. It enables students to bridge imagination and impact, to turn “What if?” into “I built this!” The democratization of coding tools means anyone, from rural India to Silicon Valley, can now create a digital footprint. That is revolutionary.

So, as we enter the era of AI, we should redefine the role of education: not only to teach students to use technology but how to create it. Remember the time when words and literature  changed the world? Now, code will! 

What do you think about it? Share your thoughts in the form of a blog and get a chance to be featured on our site.

About the Author:

Kanishka, a versatile content writer and acclaimed poetess from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, combines her passion for creativity with a strong commitment to education. Beyond crafting compelling narratives, she is dedicated to enlightening readers by sharing insights and knowledge they often don’t encounter elsewhere. She has been featured in several national and international online magazines, and anthologies. Her talent and dedication to literature have earned her two national records— one for composing the longest reverse poem and another for compiling an all-female anthology that celebrates women’s voices. Her love for storytelling, philosophies, and mythologies fuels her mission to inspire and educate, shaping minds through the power of words and knowledge.

For decades, universities—particularly in the Global South—have been locked in a race that’s less about learning and more about labels. The chase for “world-class” status, dictated by Western ranking systems, has turned education into a numbers game. Citations, faculty–student ratios, and international visibility have become the currency of prestige. But what happens when the pursuit of prestige eclipses the purpose of education itself?

Enter Comprehensive Excellence—a transformative framework that promises to restore education’s lost soul. Conceived within the 10Square Model, it rejects the tyranny of metrics and replaces it with a philosophy that values people over parameters, and purpose over performance.

Redefining the Meaning of ‘Excellence’

Comprehensive Excellence doesn’t just stretch the definition of success—it rewrites it entirely. It envisions universities as ecosystems that cultivate intellect, empathy, resilience, and innovation across ten interconnected dimensions—from ethical leadership and emotional intelligence to social engagement and lifelong learning.

Unlike conventional models borrowed wholesale from the West, this approach is rooted in local realities. It acknowledges that the Global South doesn’t need to mimic Ivy Leagues to matter—it needs to humanize its own learning systems.

This model moves beyond traditional liberal arts education—it localizes holistic learning for the Global South, making it a strategy for national development and human capital growth.

The Tyranny of Rankings

Global rankings like QS and Times Higher Education measure what’s easy to quantify, not what’s essential. Teaching quality, mental health, community engagement—none of these find space in their glossy charts. In chasing rank, institutions often forget their role as agents of transformation. They become factories of credentials, not catalysts of change.

Current global ranking systems like QS and Times Higher Education measure what is easy to count—not what truly counts. They reward privilege and prestige over purpose and inclusion.

These frameworks incentivize imitation, not innovation. They push Global South universities to chase superficial indicators instead of investing in teacher training, mental health, or community linkages—creating institutions that may look excellent but fail to transform lives.

The Post-Pandemic Imperative

The pandemic only deepened this realization. Universities that prioritized well-being and adaptability survived. Those that didn’t, didn’t. Resilience—not ranking—emerged as the true marker of excellence.

Who Will Lead the Revolution?

Transformation must be led by visionaries who see education not as administration but as a living organism.

• University leaders must abandon compliance culture for trust-based leadership.
• Faculty must evolve into mentors and innovators, not mere content deliverers.
• Students should be treated as co-creators, exploring passions through projects like Organic Learning.
• Industry and community partners must bridge classrooms and real-world laboratories.
• Comprehensive Excellence is not an abstraction—it’s already transforming institutions worldwide.

These examples show that Comprehensive Excellence is not utopian—it is proven, scalable, and globally relevant.

From Idea to Implementation

The 10Square Model doesn’t stop at philosophy—it lays out a practical roadmap: learner-centric curricula, experiential learning, competency-based assessments, and a Dual Transcript System that values both academic and holistic growth.

The model even proposes a Balanced Institutional Scorecard—a new compass for governance that measures not vanity metrics but value metrics: student satisfaction, employability, innovation, and social contribution.

How Can Universities Implement It?

Transformation demands systemic change across curriculum, assessment, and governance. The 10Square Model provides a roadmap through five pillars of reform:

1. Learner-Centric Curriculum

Integration replaces silos through Major–Minor systems and core courses in:

• Design Thinking
• AI & Data Fundamentals
• Financial & Legal Literacy
• Human Rights & Sustainability
  

2. Experiential Learning

Mandatory internships, field projects, and research form the backbone of learning—turning graduates into thinkers who can do and doers who can think.

3. Organic Learning: Passion with Purpose

A year-long independent project allows students to pursue their passion under mentorship—building specialized portfolios and reducing the “brain drain” from developing nations.

4. Multi-Assessment Strategy

Evaluation shifts from rote exams to competency-based multi-stage assessment:

This inclusive approach recognizes diverse talents and reduces inequities of standardized testing.

5. The Comprehensive Excellence Scorecard

To quantify holistic growth, the model introduces a weighted scorecard:

This feeds into a Dual Transcript System—one academic, one holistic—ensuring both cultural acceptance and global recognition.

Overcoming the Old Order

Reform is never easy. The biggest barriers—resources, cultural inertia, and faculty resistance—can’t be wished away. But the model offers evolutionary, not revolutionary, reform. It suggests low-cost, high-impact solutions, from blended learning to peer mentoring. Most crucially, it redefines merit: faculty promotions that reward mentorship and interdisciplinarity alongside research.

The Paradigm Ahead

At its core, Comprehensive Excellence is not just a framework—it’s a movement. One that unfolds across four levels: shaping ethical individuals, nurturing innovative institutions, driving national growth, and redefining global benchmarks.

Comprehensive Excellence is not a reform—it’s a movement that unfolds across four concentric circles:

This evolving cycle ensures that holistic learning → engaged alumni → institutional growth → national development → learner empowerment continues perpetually.

Long-Term Paradigmatic Shift

Comprehensive Excellence transforms education from transactional to transformational, renewing the social contract between universities and society.

In this vision, education is no longer transactional; it is transformational. It shifts focus from grades to growth, silos to synthesis, and elitism to empowerment.

A Humanistic Renaissance

Comprehensive Excellence isn’t anti-modern—it’s post-modern. It’s the next great leap for higher education systems seeking balance between intellect and integrity, innovation and inclusion.

If adopted widely, it could herald a Humanistic Renaissance—a renewal of purpose in universities where success is no longer measured by rank but by relevance.

The real question for policymakers and educators is not if this paradigm will take hold, but when. Because in the decades ahead, the institutions that survive will not be the most ranked—but the most human.

When the career paths were charted, print journalists wrote the country's first draft of history, broadcasters brought the globe into homes, and advertising creatives shaped culture through jingles, there was a time. Now, those so-safely trodden ways are disappearing fast. The media industry, once a mirror of power and stability, stands on shaky ground. Digital disruption, Artificial Intelligence, declining public trust, and crumbling business models have turned the profession on its head. And most media education in India still looks eerily the same as it did two decades ago.

The truth is painful but inevitable — Indian media education is out of date, disjointed, and perilously out of touch with reality. Unless colleges carry on using outdated textbooks and serial models of communication, they will be sending out young graduates unprepared for an industry already operating on data, algorithms, and crisis of credibility. The times require a new type of media professional: one who is flexible, moral, multi-tasking, and technologically skilled.

Then comes unlearning. The previous system was for the era when newspapers were the sole thing and Doordarshan dictated the national agenda. Advertising during that time meant full-page advertisements, and public relations meant faxed press releases. The course was tuned to that static reality — in tidy boxes of "Print Journalism," "Radio Production," or "Television Editing."

But that siloed paradigm doesn't exist anymore. News gets released first on X (formerly Twitter), gets amplified through rapid videos on Instagram, and analyzed on podcasts or YouTube in hours. Audiences no longer sit back to watch — they participate, ask, and create. But yet, our students are being taught to work for yesterday's newsroom, not the digital environment of tomorrow.

A 2025 course titled Print Media-I is not just old-fashioned; it's deceptive. It prepares students for a diminishing world, one in which print incomes have fallen off a cliff and linear television commercials have reached their peak. In its 2024 report, FICCI-EY had said digital media incomes overtook TV for the first time at INR 802 billion. That transformation isn't merely financial; it's societal. It is the beginning of a new order of information wherein attention of the audience, and not airtime, becomes the benchmark of worth.

To go on teaching print-focused curricula is to mislead young ambitions to acquire skills for a labor market that no longer exists — or exists in much smaller numbers. Universities need to see that the economy of the media has shifted online and with it the meaning of narrative, of promotion, and of credibility itself.

Artificial Intelligence hasn't merely automated the tasks — it's disrupted the value proposition of skills in every news desk and communications agency. AI can now produce first-cut drafts of reports, edit out video, create ad campaigns, and even monitor audience behavior patterns in real time. What it can't do, though, is replace human judgment — the skill to balance ethics, subtlety, and compassion.

It is exactly here that future media professionals need to carve their niche — not as replacement machines but as complements. Rather than teaching students how to carry out mechanical functions such as writing copy or building press lists, media schools should equip them to be strategists, analysts, and ethical decision-makers.

AI literacy needs to be as basic as language literacy. Not just how to operate AI tools but how to audit them — how to recognize bias, check facts, and run it through ethical filters. Technology-enabling journalism must remain grounded in human conscience. Tomorrow's newsroom will require editors who can navigate AI workflows and yet ask the most human question of all: "Is this true?"

The Crisis of Credibility

The issue isn't technological — it's ethical. Along the way, Indian media sacrificed most of its ethics. Clicks have become more significant than searching for the truth, and sensationalism has triumphed over content. It's not a crisis of reputation — it's a crisis of existence.

Audiences today are educated and jaded. They view vast amounts of content but trust little of it. That disillusion is why even the most popular online media struggle to monetize traffic with paid subscriptions. People simply will not pay for anything they do not believe.

For teachers of media, what this implies is that ethics cannot be anymore an option paper in the third semester. It has to be built as the foundation of the curriculum. Verification, transparency, and accountability have to be taught not as ethical values but as survival skills.

Future journalists will have to learn how to authenticate online evidence, detect deepfakes, and verify sources with forensic accuracy. Fact-checking and good AI policy have to be built into every assignment, every production pipeline, and every classroom conversation. Because without trustworthiness, no technology and design magic can salvage journalism.

The Acceleration Gap

As the industry grows at a breakneck pace, academia lags. The "acceleration gap" between education and the imperative has rendered thousands of graduates jobless. The India Skills Report 2024 was a chilling wake-up call: less than half of the young job seekers have skills that match prevailing market requirements.

In education for the media, this conflict is even more compelling. Colleges prefer memorization to creativity. Students are able to recite communication theory but are unable to create a digital campaign or decipher analytics dashboards. They are able to analyze 1980s-style newsroom ethics but are stumped when it comes to moderating disinformation on social media.

In order to fill the gap, Project-Based Learning (PBL) will have to displace rote learning. There should be less class time spent listening to lectures and more spent building — operating live campaigns, creating podcasts, authoring news apps, or starting up micro-media ventures. Experience of the world in the form of structured, credit-bearing industry projects must become the rule, not the exception.

Additionally, Industry-University Collaboration (IUC) needs to be institutional, not accidental. Media companies, start-ups, and communication firms' experts need to co-design and co-teach classes. Universities need to cease perceiving the industry as unknowns and convert them into co-creators of learning.

The New Media Professional: T-Shaped and Human-Centered

The future belongs to T-shaped professionals — broad, cross-platform skills (the horizontal bar of the T) and deep knowledge of a single or double specialty (the vertical stem). A student of the media must not only understand how to write or shoot but how to read audience measurement, how to optimize digital distribution, and how to build revenue models.

This emergent professional identity requires a radical transformation of media curricula. Silos of the past — Print, Radio, TV, Advertising, PR — need to be replaced by interlinked courses in Convergence, Digital Monetization, and Strategic Communication. Undergraduate education needs to stress storytelling across platforms — text, video, podcast, data visualization — and connect every creative exercise with its business result.

Postgraduate specialization needs to extend deeper into computational journalism, strategic media entrepreneurship, and AI-enabled communication. Graduates should graduate not as job seekers but as innovators who can create their own media enterprises.

And as technology becomes more adept at handling mundane work, the uniquely human capabilities — empathy, critical thinking, creativity, and moral judgment — are the true differentiators. Media literacy should focus on these H-skills, which teach students to think critically, hear with heart, and make well-informed decisions.

Reinventing the Classroom

That change won't happen by tweaking trivial courses or rebranded electives. We must transform how we teach. Classrooms must become newsrooms, studios, and incubators. Evaluation must be based on impact and creativity, not theoretical memorization.

Instructor training is imperative. Teachers have been trained in the pre-digital age and have not been retrained to educate students on AI, analytics, or cross-platform content creation. Compulsory continuous professional development (CPD) is a requirement. Teachers are not only required to teach but should mentor and work together with students on real projects.

Infrastructure must also be revitalized. The availability of broadband internet connectivity, production software, and data visualization packages is the bare minimum facilities, not the luxury of a few select institutions. Both the government and the private sector can play an important role in making such availability feasible.

Building a Sustainable Future

The new media landscape is risky but a rich one. With declining traditional ad revenue, the business has had to innovate with new models — membership programs, crowdfunding, native advertising, and individuals engaging. Media studies need to teach students about the economics of the new systems.

The students must be taught how to think entrepreneurially and locate market niches, and construct sustainable media products around them. Teaching in audience economics, content monetization, and startups can no longer be voluntary; it is a survival skill.

Most importantly, the curriculum needs to foster ethical entrepreneurship — creating spaces that prioritize truth, inclusion, and public dialogue over salaciousness. Because the future of media will not only be about who arrives first, but who arrives with a conscience.

From Instruction to Incubation

India's media teachers have a bleak option: adapt or perish. The NEP 2020 provides a policy rationale for interdisciplinarity and flexibility — but needs to be supported by more than paperwork.

Media schools need to shift from being teaching colleges to innovation incubators. They need to gear students towards a global landscape where the half-life of skills is not more than five years and lifelong learning is the only perennial.

If done properly, this reform has the potential to produce a new generation of communicators who are both technically competent and ethical — storytellers who can work alongside AI tools without sacrificing the human touch, brand builders who can establish brands without sacrificing truth, and journalists who restore the people's trust where they have lost it.

Indian media education stands poised on the edge of being remade. The question today is not whether it should be altered — but whether it can alter swiftly enough. The future of the craft, and indeed the health of our democracy, very well may hang in the balance of how we respond to that query.

That’s the no-man’s land many graduates of the COVID years find themselves in—left behind by a world that has seemingly moved on. While the rest of the country debates moon missions and startup booms, there exists a silent generation still stuck at the starting line, scouring LinkedIn for entry-level jobs that no longer exist, and falling prey to an exploitative ecosystem thriving on false hope.

During the pandemic, college placements vanished overnight. Offer letters were revoked. Careers that had barely begun came to a halt. And now, nearly half a decade later, what remains is a gaping hole—one that private training and placement institutes have rushed in to fill. These aren’t your standard coaching centres. They operate in the grey—promising plum tech jobs, experience certificates, and quick-fix career makeovers, all for a fee and your original degree certificates as collateral.

Rohan (name changed), a B.Tech graduate from Jamshedpur after completing his industrial training with Tata Motors led nowhere after the pandemic. By 2023, approaching 30 and still unemployed, he turned to five such institutes in Chennai. They dangled backend developer roles in top firms with ₹16 LPA salaries. All he had to do was pay ₹1.2 lakh upfront—and hand over his original certificates. Today, he’s still chasing interviews, unpaid internships, and living in fear of HR audits. His documents? Locked away in an office drawer.

Then there’s Pooja, a young mother from Hyderabad with a BCA degree. After a two-year career break, she was told she’d never be considered unless she “fixed the gap.” An institute “rebranded” her—rewrote her resume, coached her, fabricated her experience timeline. She’s employed now, but lives under constant anxiety.

The worst-hit are those who neither fit the mould of a fresher nor the comfort of experience. One electrical engineer, now 31, travelled south for a job training program—only to end up depressed, isolated, and betrayed. “I had dengue, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t talk to anyone due to language. I kept asking about my placement—they finally said, ‘We only train, we don’t guarantee jobs.’”

And yet, the price tags are all too real:

• ₹20,000 for admission
• ₹50,000 per interview (after an offer letter)
• ₹1 lakh for an “experience certificate”
• Another ₹1 lakh post-placement as “success fees”

The institutes don’t sign contracts. They communicate through vague promises. “Placement depends on the candidate,” one helpdesk executive told me, conveniently avoiding any written assurance.

This isn’t a one-off scam. It’s a systemic rot. A survival economy built on the backs of pandemic graduates too desperate to question, too exhausted to resist. What should have been a temporary setback has become a career death sentence for many—unless, of course, they pay.

Where are the regulators? Where are the safeguards? Why is it so easy to open an institute that takes degrees hostage in the name of employability?

COVID-era graduates don’t need fabricated resumes or illegal shortcuts. They need bridges back into the workforce. They need structured returnship programs, flexible apprenticeships, re-skilling pathways, and, most importantly, recognition from the system that they failed—and still are.

Until then, these shadow networks will thrive. Not because they’re invisible. But because we’ve chosen to look away.

Bio: Nibedita is an independent journalist honoured by the Government of India for her contributions to defence journalism.She has been an Accredited Defence Journalist since 2018, certified by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.  With over 15 years of experience in print and digital media, she has extensively covered rural India, healthcare, education, and women’s issues. Her in-depth reporting has earned her an award from the Government of Goa back to back in 2018 and 2019. Nibedita’s work has been featured in leading national and international publications such as The Jerusalem Post, Down To Earth, Alt News, Sakal Times, and others.