The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has released the SSC MTS Admit Card 2025 for Paper 1, which was eagerly awaited by lakhs of aspirants for the Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff and Havaldar (CBIC & CBN) examination cycle. The official admit card link is made available on the SSC website (ssc.gov.in ) and all nine regional portals two to three days ahead of the commencement of the exams, which are to be held across the state between September 20 and October 24, 2025. 

How to download SSC MTS Admit Card 2025

• Go to the official SSC portal: [ssc.gov.in]
• On the home page, go to the "Admit Card" etc. section.
• Choose the relevant regional SSC website according to the region where you have applied.
• Enter your registration number and DOB/password.
• Complete an on-screen math authentication (security measure)
• The admit card will be displayed; download and print it.

When downloading the admit card, if students face any issue, they can contact the SSC helpline at 1800-309-3063.  

Exam Dates & Key Details

• Exam Dates: September 20 - October 24, 2025 (Candidates need to check their specific exam centre/date)
• Vacancies 8021 (6810 MTS, 1211 Havaldar)
• Languages: Hindi, English, and 13 regional languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu)
• Mode: Computerized objective test, two exams sessions per day.

What will be There in SSC MTS Admit Card 2025?

1. Name of the candidate, roll number, application/registration number 
2. Photograph and signature. 
3. Reporting time, exam date, centre address. 
4. Instructions for the students.  

Official Announcement: Carry a valid photo ID (Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID, etc.) and strictly follow exam guidelines.

Common Issues & Solutions

1. Admit card is not showing: Please check correct credentials and SSC region and try again after some time.
2. Data mismatch/error: Contact SSC helpdesk/ your regional SSC office for data correction immediately.
3. No hard copy delivered: SSC does not send the physical copy; candidates to download and print from online.

SSC Admit Card Latest Official News

As of September 20, 2025, the SSC MTS admit card is released. Candidates can go to the official site and download the admit card. 

Pro Tips for Candidates

• Download and print 2+ copies - keep one as a back up. 
• Check all the details and sign the admit card beforehand.
• Arrive on time; late entry is strictly not allowed. 
• Prepare necessary documents beforehand (ID, stationery).

Over 15 lakhs candidates are estimated to be appearing for SSC MTS & Havaldar exams 2025. Staying informed about when your admit card is released, carefully reading the instructions, and following the rules on the day of the exam are essential for a smooth and successful exam experience.

For latest updates, check ssc.gov.in 

For increasing youth participation in the armed forces, 20 students of the NextGen Defence Academy were given special training by the Assam Rifles in Singhat, Manipur. The step has been taken to train aspirants for the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Combined Defence Services (CDS) exams.

The programme of training, conducted over a period of weeks, was a combination of class room lectures and exercises designed to simulate the pressures of competitive defence exams. From building intellectual foundations to building mental endurance, the modules had been crafted to give students a competitive edge in national-level tests.

Many spoke confidently that the mentoring of the Assam Rifles had strengthened their preparations and helped instill their morale. Candidates appeatred for the NDA and CDS exams in Aizawl, Mizoram on 14th September 2025.

"The mentoring we received was not just academic in nature. It imparted discipline, perseverance, and the spirit of service — values essential for a career in the armed forces," a trainee from the programme explained.

Assam Rifles officers highlighted that such initiatives are a part of their greater charter to engage with the people of the North-East. By counseling careers among youth at the grassroots level, the paramilitary intends to redirect aspirations into nation service.

"North-East has always contributed committed troops to India's defence. Through guidance of youthful resources and providing them with the appropriate training, we are ensuring that the tradition is kept alive," an Assam Rifles official said.

The program also exhibits a strategic focus on empowering the youth. Defence analysts note that academies and coaching centres are usually out of reach for rural-based students due to exorbitant charges. This program, in addition to filling the void, instills confidence among security forces and the general population.

As India maintains its emphasis on domestic defence capabilities and command in the National Education Policy and Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign, these collaborations are timely forays. For 20 students who took their exams this week, the training with the Assam Rifles can be the start of their journey toward becoming the country's next defence leaders.

Rajasthan high court has strongly criticised the rise of Dummy Schools calling it a threat to the education system. The court has ordered a SIT probe and called for urgent reforms to curb the spread. CBSE is also barring dummy admissions from board exams, insisting schools and coaching centres take accountability. 

What are Dummy Schools? 

Dummy schools are institutions where students of 9-12 grade are formally enrolled but do not attend regular classes both online and offline. These students instead of focusing on school, are more invested in preparing for competitive exams and attend private coaching classes  for exams like JEE, NEET, etc. These schools openly grant permission for regularly attending coaching classes instead of school. Such a trend came in sight of the Rajasthan government where they realised how it has transformed school education into a mere formality for thousands of aspirants, mainly in cities like Kota, Rajasthan.

Schools Found Guilty by CBSE

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) made surprise visits to 27 schools in 2024 in Delhi and Rajasthan. CBSE de-affiliated 21 schools in the city of Delhi and the state of Rajasthan, 16 in Delhi and 5 in Kota and Sikar, due to not having sufficient numbers of attending students in the schools, mainly in Classes 9 to 12. Video evidence of systemic dummy admissions led to the downgrading of six other Delhi schools from senior secondary (10+2) to secondary (Class 10). 

Kota: The Dummy School Hotspot in India.

• The epicentre of Dummy Schools is Kota, Rajasthan, where more than 1 lakh (100,000) students annually receive competitive exams coaching in more than 100 institutes.
• As young as Class 9, students enroll in dummy schools with the exclusive aim of spending the entire year attending coaching schools to take exams such as IIT-JEE and NEET, and frequently skip school in the process. 
• The nexus between private schools and big coaching centres in Kota incentivises this parallel education system. 

CBSE & High Court: What Decisions were made? 

CBSE asserted that the purpose of school education is the opposite of the use of dummy admissions which undermines the overall growth of the students. The court said that education boards must   ensure that attendance is mandatory for all students from classes 9 to 12 and set some strict rules to curb such unethical practices disrupting holistic education and development.

Rajasthan HC has directed CBSE and state government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct surprise checks and impose severe punishments on the guilty coaching centres and schools. The affected schools have been given show-cause notices by the HC and CBSE and ordered to take corrective measures or face the danger of being permanently disaffiliated in case of repeat violation. 

Findings of Inspections

• Faking admissions has become a trend; schools show a big gap between the number of students enrolled and those taking classes.
• Evidence on video recordings of surprise visits showed that some students had not been to school in a whole semester, which was against CBSE standards in attendance. 
• In Kota, much advertising is done by the dummy schools to tout their success rates, and parents have no choice but to send them.

Why Is Dummy School Trend a Threat?

This trend of Dummy Schools is a threat because students fail to enjoy holistic education, such as extracurriculars, life skills, and social development. The stress of pursuing high-status jobs grows; in the first eight months of 2023, Kota alone recorded 20 suicides in students. Also, the unnatural school-coaching nexus undermines the trust in the formal education system and introduces inequality.

Reform Roadmap Ahead

Rajasthan HC demanded reforms to make students have the freedom to pursue other careers instead of being engineered to become doctors. Auditing activity of CBSE will go on, and all schools threatened with non-cooperation with dummy admissions, or penalties including termination of listing. It is believed that SIT teams will become more vigilant and have surprise inspections across the state of Rajasthan in order to rebuild credibility in school education.

The cardiothoracic wing of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) is short of doctors, and patients say it is affecting the quality of care.

Since it is the largest government-operated tertiary care hospital in the western region, CMCH manages to treat between 3,500 and 4,750 outpatients and 1,400 to 1,750 inpatients every day. Most patients from far-flung areas flock to the hospital for cardiac care. But staff reported that the department suffers since it does not have enough manpower.

"Just a month back, the situation was even more critical, and only one surgeon was handling the load. Therefore, major operations were having to be referred to other government hospitals in cities such as Chennai. Now, things are slightly better with the facility of a second surgeon.".

Yet we remain understaffed since the mandated strength is four surgeons but the department has been working with only two for decades. The shortage impacts patient care," sources stated. CMCH had four surgeons deployed to the department previously but now after recent promotions and postings it is working with only two.

Replying, Dean Dr M Geethanjali stated that they have made one of the appointments by recruiting a surgeon on deputation from Chengalpattu district. "Having 50% of our strength is enough even for major surgeries. We also hope that the remaining posts will be filled during the upcoming doctors' counselling," she said.

One official from the health department added that the shortage of manpower is not only restricted to CMCH, but it is a widespread problem among most of the government medical college hospitals in the state.

Dr P Senthilkumar, secretary of the health and family welfare department, has promised to investigate the issue.

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2025 Statistical and Performance Report released on 17th September by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)  Roorkee which provides important data about qualifying marks, number of candidates and cut off trends for major papers such as CS, ME, EC, EE and CE - which will be very helpful for the aspirants who are preparing for GATE 2026. 

What is GATE 2025 Statistical Report?

IIT Roorkee recently released the official GATE 2025 Statistical Report, the exam conducted on February 1, 2, 15, and 16, 2025. The report includes essential details on the number of students who registered, appeared and qualified and the cutoff marks set for each paper. Its major goal is to provide students and policymakers with a clear understanding of current trends in admission, competition, and performance.

GATE 2025 Exam Participation: Highlights

• Total Registered: Around 8.6 Lakh Students
• Total Appeared : 6.9 lakh students
• Overall Participation Rate: Almost 80

These numbers reveal a steady rise in comparison to previous years with participation and qualification levels helping to predict competition for future aspirants. 

Cut-off marks and Qualifying Data

The cut-off marks and qualifying score for GATE 2025 are as follows:

The 2025 cutoffs and qualifying numbers of popular GATE papers are as follows:Cutoffs vary by paper and category, and the highest registrations remain in CS, followed by CE and EC.

Highlights of Exam performance

• CS recorded the most number of test takers. 
• In the majority of key papers, maximum scores were close to the 100-mark. 
• The trends of cutoffs are analyzed to forecast the trends in GATE 2026.

How to Download GATE 2025 Report?

To get the official report: 

• Visit gate2025.iitr.ac.in
• Click on ‘DOWNLOAD’
• Choose GATE 2025 STATISTICAL and performance report. 
• Store the PDF as a reference.

Official GATE 2025 Report

Here is the PDF link: https://gate2025.iitr.ac.in/doc/download/GATE2025StatisticalAndPerformanceReportWebVersion.pdf 

The importance of the Statistical Report

1. Helps aspirants have set achievable goals on GATE 2026 preparation. 
2. Planning and guidance valuable to institutions and coaching centres.
3. Facilitates the improvement of admissions, allowing the policy makers and recruiters to understand performance trends.

Note: It is always best to visit the official GATE site and high ranking education news sites for factual and accurate info. Add Edinbox to your google tab for credible education news. 

India is silently bleeding talent—not due to brain drain, but due to its own harsh entrance test culture, startup founder Akhil Suhag writes in a LinkedIn post.

His criticism? A system that siphons off would-be engineers through chemistry question papers, forces programmers into textile courses, and encourages memorization at the expense of mastery.

A 13-year-old coding-fanatic wants to be world-class," Suhag explains. "What does the system do? It compels him to spend 4–5 years memorizing chemistry and physics to make it into IIT/NIT.

Even when they pass the entrance exams, Suhag writes, students are randomly allotted branches—Textile, Mining, Metallurgy—neither because of any aptitude nor even because their rank was "high enough." This, he contends, sidetracks not only individual promise but the nation's innovation pipeline in the long run.

In his blog, Suhag deconstructs the deeply held notion that elite college labels are the sole indicators of intelligence. "We test how good a computer engineer one can be based on his chemistry skills," he says, going on to point out that fever, anxiety, or a single bad day can sabotage an entire career path.

He also identifies the trickle-down effect on career changes such as MBA applications: "Your college determines your first job, your first job determines your MBA profile." In a system where where you graduated looms larger than what or how well you learned, says Suhag, the deck is stacked against even the most talented.

His attack also covers the UPSC exam, India's door to its most sought-after civil services. "Hundreds of thousands of bright youngsters throw away their prime years memorizing irrelevant trivia for 500 posts," he states. "Even the military tests psychological ability—not UPSC."

"It's not only unjust. It's dimwitted. It's destructive," concludes Suhag. "India kills its own talent before the world even gets to see it."

FAQ High-Paying Media Careers After BJMC/MJMC for Students

Q1. Can a BJMC graduate become a Corporate Communications Manager?
A. Yes. Many corporates, especially in tech, FMCG, and finance, hire Corporate Communications Managers to handle brand reputation, internal communication, and press relations.
Average Salary: ₹8–20 lakh/year
Extra Skills/Courses: MBA in Communication Management, PG in Corporate PR

Q2. Is Brand Strategist a good-paying role after BJMC?

1. Absolutely. Brand Strategists plan campaigns, messaging, and market positioning for big brands, working closely with creative and marketing teams.

Average Salary: ₹12–25 lakh/year

Extra Skills/Courses: MBA in Marketing, Certificate in Brand Management (Coursera/UpGrad)

Q3. Can I become a Digital Content Producer with a BJMC degree?
A. Yes. OTT platforms, ad agencies, and YouTube networks hire Digital Content Producers to create, plan, and manage videos, podcasts, and social content.
Average Salary: ₹8–15 lakh/year (₹25–40 lakh for senior roles in OTT)
Extra Skills/Courses: Diploma in Digital Media Production, Adobe Premiere Pro/After Effects certification

Q4. Is Event Marketing Manager a high-paying career for media graduates?
A. Yes. Event Marketing Managers plan large-scale corporate events, entertainment shows, and influencer meet-ups for brands.
Average Salary: ₹10–18 lakh/year (plus incentives)
Extra Skills/Courses: PG Diploma in Event Management, MBA in Marketing

Q5. Can a BJMC graduate get into Media Buying & Planning?
A. Definitely. Media Buyers/Planners decide where ads should run (TV, digital, radio) for maximum ROI. It’s strategic, data-driven, and in demand.
Average Salary: ₹7–15 lakh/year (₹20+ lakh at director level)
Extra Skills/Courses: PG in Media Planning, Google Ads & Analytics certification

Q6. Is Influencer Marketing Manager a well-paying job?
A. Yes. Brands pay big for professionals who can manage influencer partnerships, negotiate deals, and track campaign performance.
Average Salary: ₹8–14 lakh/year (₹20+ lakh in luxury/fashion brands)
Extra Skills/Courses: Certification in Social Media Marketing, Influencer Campaign Analytics

Q7. Can I work as a Creative Director after BJMC?
A. Yes, with experience. Creative Directors lead ad campaigns, TVCs, and brand storytelling for agencies and production houses.
Average Salary: ₹15–40 lakh/year
Extra Skills/Courses: PG in Creative Communication, Advanced Film & Advertising Workshops

Q8.Are these high-paying jobs available to freshers?
Some entry-level roles like junior content designer or digital marketing executive are open to freshers, but top salaries come with experience, specialization, and strong portfolios.

Average Salary: ₹4–8 lakh/year
Extra Skills/Courses- Short term certification course 

Q9.How do I start building skills for these careers while in college?

Take online certifications (Google, Coursera, Meta Blueprint)
Build a portfolio with freelance or college projects
Network on LinkedIn and industry events

Stay updated with OTT and media tech trends

Q.10 What is the best course for a high-paying media job in India?
Courses depend on the role:

• Content Designer: BJMC/MJMC Mass Communication + UX Design Certificate
  
  
• Programmatic Specialist: MBA in Digital Marketing + Google Ads Certification
  
  
• Music Supervisor: BJMC+ Diploma in Sound Engineering + Music Business
  
  
• Media Strategist: MBA in Media Management or PG in Advertising & PR
  
  
• Media ML Engineer: B.Tech (AI/ML) + Digital Media Technology
•   PCR Controller - MJMC ,PG Diploma in TV Production 
• Video Editor-BJMC/MJMC Mass Communication with  specialization in video production
• Filmmaker/Director of Photography- BJMC/MJMC Mass Communication with specialization in photography and cinematography
• Media Director- MJMC with specialization in Media Management,Advertising PR
• Director of Strategic Communication- Mass Communication Degree with specialization in Media and Marketing Management

Q.11Can a mass communication student work in AI or tech-based media jobs?

Ans- Yes. Many media tech jobs require content knowledge + technical skills. Mass communication students can enter AI-based media roles by learning coding (Python), AI/ML basics, and cloud tools like AWS alongside their degree.

Q.12 Which media career pays the most in India?Ans- The highest-paying media roles in India include Media Machine Learning Engineers (₹2.4 crore per year), Content Designers in global firms (₹1.4 crore per year), and Music Supervisors on big projects (₹2 crore+ per assignment). All the technical profiles are highly paid jobs while front line jobs provide recognition and fame in the first place. Subsequently with the experience ,you start a good paycheck with other perks. Behind the screens roles pay in  lakhs.

Design is no longer merely about appearance in 2025, but it is driven by insights, creativity and, more and more, information. With advanced AI tools, smart analytics, and user-focused research changing the course of literally everything from product sketches to immersive digital experiences, the best designers today don’t just listen to their gut feeling about what customers want, they figure it out accurately. A research on the topic “Data-Enhanced Design: Engaging Designers in the Use of Quantitative Data for Product Development,” by K. Gorkovenko and team, published in International Journal of Design, 2023, reveals exactly that. 

What is this research about? 

The research paper discusses how designers, in particular, those with no data specialist expertise, can apply various types of real-world data, sensor data and video, to get a better picture of how people use products, and how to generate new ideas at the very beginning of the design cycle. 

The authors of the research established a workable test in which designers analyzed cycling data and video recordings to identify patterns, highlight significant moments and pose questions, demonstrating that one can move between technical and creative reasoning with straightforward annotation and visual means. In short, the paper concludes the fact that when the right approaches are used even non-expert designers can use the data to power their creative ideation and problem-solving making the design process more thoughtful and user-oriented at the very stage. 

You might be a student getting started in your design career, or you might be a veteran professional who needs to keep on top of the curve, either way, it is important to learn to understand design and data to develop solutions that really would shine in the creative environment of India.

Why Designers Should Care about Data?

Huge amounts of data like , speed, location, or even rider posture of a GoPro on a bicycle, are produced each day with every smart device and digital product. The research based on “Data-Enhanced Design: Engaging Designers in the Use of Quantitative Data for Product Development,” International Journal of Design, 2023, by K. Gorkovenko and team examines how such data in the form of multimodal information can be used by designers, even if they lack skills in statistics or code writing, to design superior products and more relevant user experiences.

How Was  the Research Done? 

• It involved 20 designers, engineers, and developers who held sessions where they got to look at actual cycling data (such as speed and GPS) and videos of actual bike rides.
• Participants were allowed to ask the cyclist questions directly, in a practical, imaginative manner.
• The goal: to find out whether designers can create helpful and human-focused product brainstorms based on data and simple analysis, with the help of user-friendly tools.

Key findings for the research 

1.To innovate, designers do not have to be data scientists.

Visual data, context, and personal observations (even of new statistics users) could be used by brainstorming, identifying issues, and even developing new bike and accessories designs.

2.Annotation and Marking Techniques Are Potent

Designers liked marking interesting moments in the data/video (“annotation”), which helped them stay creative and focused. This manual tagging of “aha!” moments bridges the gap between technology and the human side of design.

3.Simple Machine Learning Goes a Long Way

Even simple AI, such as data clustering or the identification of anomalies (such as a sudden halt or a bump in the road), was finding real value by the participants. They recommended that with automation they would have time saved and be able to think creatively.  

4.Visual, Flexible Tools are Better than Complex Dashboards.

Things like easy-to-use graphs, overlays with scene recognition, and the skills of questioning (“Show me every sharp turn”) made the data accessible and actionable for all, not just those people who are data experts.

5.Inspiration behind Personalisation and Safety.

The first thought that designers came up with was about bikes that are designed depending on their types of riding, alerts against risky situations, and functions that help in the maintenance and technology to promote fitness, and all this was based on the data on actual individuals.

6.The Future of Digital Twins and A/B Testing.

Best practices identified in the study include digital twins (a virtual representation of a real-world product) and A/B testing (comparing versions to determine which users like them the most), and which are highly data-scalable and are currently having an impact on mainstream design thinking.

What Does This Mean for Indian Design Aspirants and Firms?

1. Data-enhanced methods are not only for the engineers. Storyboarding, annotation, and barebones statistics can open up options in UX, product, or interaction design to every design student or professional.
2. Accepting data does not require an act of abandoning creativity, but it provides more potent information to design everything, bicycles included, and digital products. 
3. As India is quickly becoming digital, these international lessons can provide local designers with a competitive advantage in user centered, evidence-based design; in design schools, startups or established studios. 

To conclude, as an Indian design student or teacher or professional, you do not have to be a hardcore data scientist to utilize data. Begin with basic tools, visualise and annotate key moments, and collaborate across skills and you will find new ways of creatively and effectively solving real-world problems.

To read the full research, refer to this link:: Data-Enhanced Design - K. Gorkovenko et al. (2023).

In a first, the Calcutta High Court has permitted a physically disabled student from Malda in West Bengal to study medicine, realizing his dream of becoming a doctor.

Prasanta Mondal, who was affected by polio in his childhood, has just three and a half working fingers on each of his hands. Notwithstanding the handicap, he passed his Higher Secondary exams and cleared the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) with his partially developed fingers. He attained an All India Rank of 1,61,404 and a PwBD category rank of 3,627.

His dreams were put on hold when Kolkata's SSKM Hospital, following a physical evaluation, ruled him ineligible for studying medicine. The hospital report mentioned that he could not grip surgical instruments such as scalpels and scissors, and on this ground, he was refused verification of admission.

Undeterred to abandon the case, Mondal shifted the Calcutta High Court against SSKM's report. A one-man bench headed by Justice Biswajit Basu ordered a second test at AIIMS Mumbai.

The AIIMS panel held that though his health presented difficulties, it would not hinder him from pursuing medicine.

Moving on this report, Justice Basu directed the authorities to grant Mondal's verification and admission under PwBD quota. Mondal's lawyer, advocate Sarwar Jahan, stated that his client's persistence has now been vindicated.

The court also questioned seriously SSKM's evaluations. Referring to an identical case concerning Chandan Majhi of Purulia, who is in a wheelchair and was also found unfit by SSKM but cleared subsequently by a hospital in Delhi, Justice Basu said, "This is not the first time SSKM hospital has rejected clearance where other premier centers like AIIMS or other Delhi hospitals have done so. Why this consistent disparity? Is SSKM hospital superior to all others?"

With this court verdict, Prasanta Mondal, who has an aspiration to become a doctor, can now start his MBBS journey.

The National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) Goa campus successfully conducted a three-day Research and Skills Development program (RSDP) on AI in Cyber Security and Forensic Science, held between September 15 and 17, 2025. The hybrid event united leading experts, scholars, and researchers to discuss the revolutionary aspect of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in improving cyber security practices and promoting forensic science practices.

The Future of AI in Security and Forensics

The program was an interactive platform where members learned about the recent AI methods that are transforming the way cyber threats are detected and prevented as well as revolutionizing forensic investigations. With the growth of complex and challenging cyber crime cases and the growing use of digital evidence, AI-related tools are rapidly becoming a requirement of law enforcement and forensic specialists.

The major themes were AI threat-detection algorithms, deep learning in cybercrime investigations, forensic data science, and deepfake detection and analysis of digital evidence with the help of AI. Interactive practical activities and case studies were also done by the participants to improve their practical skills in addition to theory.

Highlights of the program and Expert-led sessions.

• Topic of The Program: Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of NFSU and Dr. J. M. Vyas highlighted the importance of AI in helping protect digital infrastructure and increase forensic services.
• Core Sessions: Presented by prominent scholars such as Dr. Ranjit Kolkar and Prof. (Dr.) Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, the core sessions covered the basics of AI, AI in forensic science, data science applications, and keynote talks on the future of AI in the field of forensic science.
• Panel Discussion: Scholars discussed ethical issues and the future of using AI technologies in forensic and cybersecurity systems.
• Lab Visits: On campus laboratories at the NFSU Goa campus that had demonstrated the latest forensic and cybersecurity technology offered some on-hand learning experiences.

Research and Industry Bridging Needs

This RSDP reflected the dedication by NFSU in addressing the research-practice gap between academic research and industry demands in forensic and security sciences. The intensive program was to prepare faculty researchers and professionals with the latest knowledge and skills in addressing the challenges of cybercrime and forensic investigations.

Details of participation and registration

The hybrid program was open to academia, research scholars, government professionals, forensic scientists and industry experts. Registration cost depended on the type of scholars in the research and the industry analysts; registration cost INR 500 and 1500 respectively, and the international participants paid USD 25. Upon successful completion participants were certified by NFSU.

The Future of Forensics and Cyber Security in India

With cyber threats becoming more advanced, integrating AI with forensic science can be a valuable toolkit that will help India prevent crimes proactively and deliver justice based on evidence. The initiative by NFSU with such specialised programs reflects its leadership role in ensuring forensic education and development of a qualified workforce that is up to date with the digital age.

Healthcare is not just a career but a calling, an act of self-sacrifice, a voyage of passion, purpose, and a sense of responsibility that extends way beyond a paycheck. The mindset of many Indian healthcare workers, from top doctors to nurses and allied professionals, proves that for them, saving lives comes before personal benefit or material gain.

The Spirit of Indian Doctors

There are many instances in India where doctors put their comfort and even their lives at risk to protect and care for their patients. Recently, Major Simrat Rajdeep Singh, an Army physician, saved a critically ill passenger on an IndiGo flight by resuscitating him and ensuring his safe hospitalization, demonstrating true dedication driven by duty, not fame or money. Another case of a doctor who injected the drip in his foot after passing out in the OT, just to keep the operation going to save his patient. Similarly, AIIMS doctors saved the life of a two-year-old girl in a life-threatening condition during a commercial flight by working together under pressure to ensure her survival. Such instances are indicative of a calling- whereby, a wish to serve and heal takes precedence over self-benefit.

Nurses: Courage Under Crisis

There is no other recent example that describes the calling of healthcare like the viral video of Aditya Hospital of Assam during the September 2025 earthquake. The video of this selfless act is going viral on social media gaining all the praise and applause. The video showed when strong tremors shook the hospital building, CCTV cameras captured two nurses in the NICU immediately covering newborn babies rather than rushing to their own safety or hesitating to stay back.  Their first reflex was saving the babies and not themselves. They were not driven by self-preservation, but rather by the security of the least strong. These courageous nurses are getting all the blessings from across the country, and are being called true Indian nurses. 

Importance of Allied Healthcare Workers

Healthcare is a team effort. The allied professionals, such as physiotherapists, lab technicians, dietitians, and occupational therapists, work both behind the scenes and at the bedside, performing critical roles in patient recovery, chronic care, diagnostics, rehabilitation, and daily support. They also help bridge the gaps in healthcare access in remote and rural areas, providing essential support during emergencies and routine care alike. Their hard work benefits doctors and nurses, enhancing the results and providing the environment of care in which each patient matters.

Best Practices That Establish Healthcare

These examples and stories show that healthcare is indeed more than a profession, it is a calling that is motivated by:

• Compassion and care for patients indifferent to their financial background. 
• A strong sense of responsibility towards the society, particularly during crises.
• A desire to heal, comfort, and empower patients and families.
• Willingness to work long hours, take risks and make sacrifices in the process of serving others.

Healthcare is not just a profession, it is a service-oriented profession built on service, sacrifice, and doing what is right. From the doctors carrying out essential operations beyond the hospital, to the nurses saving lives of unborn during a disaster and the individuals in the profession that assist in the provision of care in the villages and cities, and all the healthcare workers whose stories we don’t know, their spirit is what builds a healthier and more humane society with each passing day.

India's premier medical education regulator approved a gross increase of 6,850 MBBS seats in 2025-26 which can raise the intake for the highly coveted undergraduate medical degree course across the nation to 123,700.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) further suspended about 2,000 seats across the country for non-compliance with certain norms, and the colleges have been given an opportunity to plug gaps so that these seats can be made available, government officials familiar with the matter said anonymously.

This sudden hike in MBBS (bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery) seats by the NMC will increase admission possibilities for the over 12.3 lakh students who cleared the NEET-UG 2025 test. These new seats have been created in new as well as old government and private medical colleges, the above-quoted government officials and documents with Mint reported.

NEET-UG stands for National Eligibility Entrance Test-Undergraduate, which is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to undergraduate medical courses, even at the high-profile All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The counselling for NEET still goes on and the admission process keeps on going on.

The NMC data, as seen by Mint, for MBBS seat Matrix for the year 2025-26 shows a staggering rise in medical education infrastructure. The report showed a total of 6,850 new seats have been made available for this year.

These new seats are spread across 13 new government colleges with 1,050 seats, and 32 existing government colleges with 1,080 additional seats. In the private sector (societies and trusts), there were 10 new colleges approved with 1,200 seats, and 28 existing colleges with 1,515 additional seats.

Questions sent to the health ministry via email remained unresolved until press time.

Seat allocations by state

New government medical colleges have also been approved in the states of Kerala (Kasaragod Government Medical College, 50 seats) and Uttar Pradesh (ESIC Medical College, Noida, 50 seats).

Similarly, new private colleges like Anna Gowri Medical College and Hospital in Andhra Pradesh (100 seats) and Balvir Singh Tomar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Rajasthan (150 seats) have also been approved.

Besides that, a number of existing medical colleges were also permitted to increase their intakes. Some of them include Assam Medical College, whose seats were increased from 200 to 250, and Madhubani Medical College in Bihar, which increased by 100 seats to become capable of holding 250.

Regulatory control and cost impact

"This climb is a major move by the government to meet the growing demand for healthcare professionals and improve the quality of medical education by providing more opportunities of clinical training and practice. The NMC, being the central regulator, ensures the quality of medical education," a senior government official familiar with the development said.

"Undergraduate students welcome the hike, which is a relief for them as it offers a more cost-effective and cheaper way to build up a medical professional in India," the official added.

While the NMC gives a regulation of fees, wherein at most 50% of the private institution's and identified university's seats should be comparable to government medical college fees of the respective state, fees remain astronomical. The Economic Survey 2024-25 recorded the cost of an MBBS degree in private institutions ranging from ₹60 lakh to over ₹1 crore, which sweeps 48% of the overall MBBS seats.

Dr. Aashish Chaudhry, MD at Aakash Healthcare, felt that India doesn't have enough doctors and there are too many people who still harbor the dream of becoming a doctor. "Doubling the seats will certainly fill this vacuum and make the country's medical system strong," he felt.

Another government official stated that only after "diligent vigilance and scrutiny" was the number of seats increased. "If 100 seats were asked for by some colleges, only 50 seats were allotted. Firmness has increased," said the official, repeating that the government is thinking about means of acquiring good faculty members.

National president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) with an estimated 3.5 lakh member doctors all over India, Dr. Dilip Bhanushali had a different outlook. In his view, "raising seats will not help to better medical education. India needs robust medical education infrastructure, and more qualified faculties in the colleges." He even protested about significant positions on the NMC have not been filled up yet despite repeated requests.

Each year, there are lakhs of ambitious students in India with a dream of pursuing an MBA to build a lucrative career in management, consulting, finance, marketing, and technology. For 2026 aspirants, cracking the right entrance exams is the key first step. Most business schools with high ranking admit individuals who qualify through national and state-level MBA entrance exams. The most significant entrance exams are presented in this article, and the dates, trends, and colleges that accept scores provided, to assist you in organizing your MBA experience around the best time. 

The importance of MBA Entrance Exams

MBA entrance tests are the barrier to the desirable management institutes like the Indian institutes of management (IIMs), XLRI, Jamshedpur, NMIMS, Mumbai, Symbiosis, Pune and so on. These tests help evaluate the applicants on such important areas as quantitative ability, verbal skills, logical reasoning, and general awareness. Competition is intense, and seats are few, with 4lakh+ candidates seeking to pass every year it is important to grasp the intricacies of these exams to succeed. 

Top MBA Entrance Exams in India for 2026

1.Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025

Exam Date: November 30, 2025

Purpose: Gateway to 21 IIMs and over 1,000 prestigious B-schools

Pattern: 3 sections – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), Quantitative Ability (QA)

Duration: 120 minutes

Significance: The toughest and most sought-after MBA exam, registering over 3.5 lakh candidates every year

2.Global Management Common Aptitude Test (GMCAT) 2026

Powered by: edinbox 

Accepted by: 70+ top management universities in India (private)

Duration: 1 hours

Exam type: 100% online with 100 MCQ questions

Significance: The easiest, convenient MBA entrance exam for admission, registering over 500  candidates from the first year of being introduced in 2024. 

3.Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2026

Exam Date: January 4, 2026

Accepted By: XLRI Jamshedpur, XIMB, IMT Ghaziabad, over 1,000 institutes

Pattern: 4 sections including Quantitative Ability, Decision Making, and General Knowledge

Duration: 180 minutes

4.NMIMS Management Aptitude Test (NMAT) 2025

Exam Window: November-December 2025 (flexible scheduling)

Institutes: NMIMS Mumbai, KJ Somaiya, IFMR, and other institutes

Key Feature: Conducted multiple times with best scores considered; online remote proctoring

5.Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) 2025

Exam Month: December 2025

Scope: For admission to 17 Symbiosis institutes including SIBM Pune, SCMHRD

Pattern: Sectional, computer-based test

6.Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 2026

Conducted By: National Testing Agency (NTA)

Exam Date: February-March 2026

Acceptance: AICTE approved institutes across India, including JBIMS Mumbai, BIMTECH

Sections: Quantitative Techniques, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

7.Maharashtra CET (MAH MBA CET) 2026

Exam Date: March-April 2026

Scope: State-level exam for admission to MBA colleges in Maharashtra

Pattern: 200 questions across four sections in 150 minutes

Additional Notable MBA Entrance Exams in India.

1. Tamil Nadu TANCET (MBA in Tamil Nadu)
2. MICAT (strategic marketing and communications PGDM exam of MICA Ahmedabad)
3. SRCC GBO (Specialized global business operations test of Shri Ram College of Commerce)

Preparing for 2026: Key Tips

• Begin on time and find 4-5 exams that conform to your target institutes.
• Get familiar with the syllabus and pattern of the various exams; many of them overlap.
• Test yourself using mock tests and past year papers to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• Time management and conceptual clarity is important as well.
• Keep track of registration deadlines
• For latest updates and info, check the official website of the entrance exam you are preparing for.  

In India, MBA admission tests are the portals to some of the most reputable management schools that make future leaders. Several exams are available to serve colleges at both national and state levels, therefore, aspirants need to strategize their preparation and discipline to ensure a landing into leading business schools such as IIMs, XLRI, NMIMS or Symbiosis among other exams to take place in the year 2026.  

Today, on 19th September,2025, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chaired a pivotal meeting on GST reforms for the Agriculture Sector. 

The discussions were on the implementation of the GST rate cut on machinery and equipment in agriculture that was recently reduced by half to 5% instead of 12-18% effective on 22 September, 2025. This historic reform would make farm machinery much more affordable, lower production expenses, and increase the income of farmers.

Benefits for Farmers and Agriculture Economy 

In his response to the media following the meeting, Minister Chouhan said the GST reforms are “extremely helpful and beneficial” to farmers in India. He stressed that such reforms would give the agricultural sector a new impetus, allowing farmers to achieve higher prices, and agribusiness would become more open and easier.

Shivraj Singh Chouhand said, "GST on bio-pesticides and micronutrients has been reduced, which will benefit farmers. Also, the trend of farmers towards bio-fertilizers from chemical fertilizers will definitely increase. GST exemptions in the dairy sector, including on milk and cheese, will help the common man as well as cattle breeders and milk producers."

He also said that the government’s commitment is absolute; these reforms are sure to drop the input costs, increase production and profitability, and bring prosperity to farmers and rural India. 

Key Outcomes of the Meeting

• Discount of tractors and tools: Retail price reductions are forecasted to be 5% and will save between Rs 23,000 and Rs 63,000 based on horsepower and type of tractor. 
• Subsidy and Tax Benefits: Farmers will receive two benefits of government subsidies and reduced GST, which will decrease the total costs of cultivation. 
• Target Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs): The reduction of rental fees due to cheaper farm machinery purchase will provide access to mechanization within small and marginal farmers at CHCs.
• Industry Involvement: The industry representatives of major industry associations such as Tractor and Mechanisation Association (TMA), Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association (AMMA), All India Combine Harvester Manufacturers Association (AICMA), and Power Tiller Association of India (PTAI) attended and promised to spread these benefits.

The Vision of Agricultural Growth by Government

Under this reform, the government will enhance farm mechanization, efficiency, agricultural productivity, and localized manufacturing in the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Closely collaborating with stakeholders is also the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to make the implementation as smooth and transparent as possible.

With the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life, educating the future generation about AI in an engaging and practical way is more important than ever. Google in partnership with  Stanford Accelerator for Learning, has developed an intriguing and revolutionary free video game, AI Quests, intended to educate 11-14-year-old students about AI through immersive, interactive gameplay.

What is AI Quests?

AI Quests is a gamified learning platform, released September 9, 2025. It immerses young learners in real-world AI problem-solving tasks inspired by Google research projects. Students do not engage in theory but become AI researchers. They are mentored by an in-game character called Professor Skye, who takes them on a series of quests in which they:

• Define problems, 
• Collect and assess data, 
• Train and test AI models, 
• Dig into the impacts of human choices on AI results.

This fantasy game provides an engaging and informative gameplay in which the young minds work on problems based on real-world problems, including flood prediction, diabetic retinopathy detection, and the mapping of the human brain through connectomics studies. 

How AI Quest Work?

Here is how Google's AI Quest works: 

1. 1st quest is Flood Forecasting Quest: Participants use data on rainfall and river flows in order to predict floods and assist communities in being ready.
2. 2nd quest is Health Quests: Future modules will allow students to create AI models to identify diabetic retinopathy, which causes blindness, and understand the human brain.

Throughout the gameplay, students are able to observe the impact of data quality, human-based biases and ethical decision making on the performance of AI, which develops a comprehensive perspective on the advantages and limitations of AI. 

Why does it matter for India? 

The young generation in India is highly dynamic and techno-friendly but can easily become overwhelmed with the intricate AI ideas unless they are presented with relevant learning resources. AI Quests offer Indian parents, teachers, and educators a convenient and interactive tool so that the future of AI literacy can be formed at a young age- providing a child with essential critical skills in the future profession.

The game links learning to issues in the society by covering such topics as climate change and health issues affecting India and the world. Not only do the students achieve real-world experience of the technology, but they also learn to empathize and be ethically conscious about the way AI is applied in the real-world.

Global Initiatives Integration

AI Quests is integrated with global AI literacy initiatives, including Google DeepMind’s Experience AI and Stanford Accelerator for Learning’s CRAFT project. The platform is available worldwide, providing detailed teacher guides and lesson plans for smooth classroom implementation. Indian schools and education programs can directly access AI Quests to enhance STEM and AI curricula.

How to Access AI Quests

The game is free as well as code-free and is created to meet the needs of the middle school students. The AI Quests site also allows educators and those interested in AI literacy to start using it now, so it is an excellent option to use in both classroom and home learning environments. 

As AI is set to transform education and professions across the globe, the AI Quests offered by Google can provide a great solution to Indian schools and colleges to raise a generation of confident, ethical and knowledgeable AI users by turning learning into an exciting journey of discovery rather than boredom.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing everything, and the creative industry is transforming with it. The birth  of a new type of job: the ‘AI Photo Designer’ is one of the most discussed options. However, will this title be a legit and accepted job, one where there is demand, career opportunities and growth? Here is everything you need to know, but before that let’s start by understanding the job role of an AI Designer.

Who is an AI Designer? 

An AI Designer is a creative professional who uses technologies of artificial intelligence to design, develop, and improve products or experiences. They work with engineers and other stakeholders to develop AI-based solutions, typically human-centric and interactive interfaces and interactions. Their work involves designing the AI prototypes, creating new AI technologies, and creating AI-driven products. AI Designers blend innovation and substantial technical expertise and work on such domains as computer vision, voice interfaces, and machine learning applications. They also help ensure the AI systems’ ethical and effective use, creating user-friendly, transparent, and trustworthy AI experiences. The key skills are design thinking, prompt engineering, basic programming, excellent teamwork and communication skills.

Who Is an AI Photo Designer?

An AI Photo Designer is a professional creative designer who uses advanced AI tools to create, edit, or transform photographic images on behalf of clients, brands, or companies. It is not simply about editing pictures using AI filters, it involves prompt engineering (providing the AI with text prompts), strategic images, style transfer by AI, and working with automated and human teams to produce high-quality and unique visual images.

Is the Market on the Build?

The number of job ads suggest that AI is rising in design and creative work, with mentions of the word AI in job descriptions and titles in 2023 and 2024, along with 56% in 2025 in search results, indicating a strong demand among design employers in 2025 for designers of products and services who are tech-savvy and capable of using AI tools productively.

AI Content Creator, AI Art Director, or Prompt Engineer are already official job listings and AI Systems Designer has witnessed a steep increase in posts - rising more than 90 points in 2025 alone. Media, advertising, e-commerce, and fashion designing companies are posting job adverts that seek applicants with the ability to apply Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL·E, Firefly, and other generative image systems.

As a traditional graphic design industry is being automated, a new generation of so-called hybrid creative jobs is emerging. Employers value candidates who combine sensitivities of design, art direction, proficiency in AI tools, and timely creation.

Although AI has emerged, the skill of design is currently the top skill in AI-focused job advertisements, even over pure programming or AI model development. Communication, creativity and leadership are recurrently presented as qualities to these occupations.

Existing Examples and Career Pathways

AI Photo Editing and Art Direction

In numerous studios and agencies, there is a new position called AI Image Curator or AI Art Generator Specialist, making the job description to instruct AI to produce branded images, ad content, social media content and editorial illustrations.

AI-Enhanced Freelancing

In India and the world, successful freelancers are establishing their careers by composing and restoring AI images and performing image enhancement through creative cloud services, meeting the needs of publishers, e-commerce sellers, influencers, and brands.

Education and Upskilling

The mainstreaming of these skill sets is being reflected in the introduction of micro-credentials and workshops in AI image creation in the best universities and design schools.

Will AI Replace or Create Jobs for Designers?

• Endangered Traditional Roles: The World Economic Forum (WEF) places graphic design at the top of the list of occupations that are on the downward trajectory because of automation, yet adds that new kinds of hybrid creative occupations are emerging. 
• Identifying as AI Photo Designer: Although the term AI Photo Designer is not a standardized job title on either Naukri or LinkedIn, its capabilities are now being listed on such positions as Content Creator, Digital Visual Designer, Prompt Engineer, and many others, all of which are currently requesting expertise in AI image tools.
• Competitive Advantage of First Adopters: Designers that adopt AI processes, i.e., integrating generative images with narrative, curation, and creative decision-making, are enjoying increased productivity, demand, and securing newer job titles, which only a few years prior were unattainable.

What Aspiring AI Photo Designers Should Pay attention to?

1. Develop Hybrid Skills: Study design basics and prompt engineering in AI. Applications such as Midjourney, Firefly, DALL.E, and Adobe Express can now be used to create meaningful imagery without the conventional editing process; however it takes an artistic vision and effective communication with AI.
2. Keep Pace: AI systems and design requirements change rapidly. Online challenges (such as Adobe Creative Residency) and courses and webinars are a good way to keep your skills up to date.
3. Build Your Brand: With the field becoming more competitive, visual style and human stories cannot be replaced regardless of the heavy lifting done by AI in implementation.
4. Ethics and Authenticity: With the emergence of AI fakes as a topic of concern, human designers with expertise in ethical application of AI, curation, and differentiation of authentic work will be even more sought after.

Does the “AI Photo Designer” Exist?

Yes, the AI Photo Designer is already becoming a reality and an appreciated occupation, with its technical and creative skills. As the traditional graphic design career gets redefined, AI fluency coupled with design thinking is creating new career opportunities in India and the world at large. Not only will designing photos with AI become a marketable skill in the next several years, but in many ways a formal job role; with high demand in many industries including media and advertising, technology, entertainment, and e-commerce. 

In India, on September 15, 2025, the Engineers Day is celebrated. To commemorate this special day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on X: “Today, on Engineers’ Day, I pay homage to Sir M. Visvesvaraya, whose brilliance left an indelible mark on India’s engineering landscape. I extend warm greetings to all engineers who, through their creativity and determination, continue to drive innovation and tackle tough challenges across sectors. Our engineers will continue playing a crucial role in the collective efforts to build a Viksit Bharat.”  

Why is Engineers Day Celebrated?

The Engineer's Day is celebrated on September 15th every year on the birth anniversary of the one of the most respected engineers and visionaries of India, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Visvesvaraya was born in 1861 and contributed immensely towards the irrigation systems, flood control and modernized infrastructure in India. He was even conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the greatest civilian award in the country. 

The Implication of the PM Modi message

The message of Prime Minister Modi can be summarized into two points:

• Honoring the Past: PM Modi inspires by reminding us of how the modern world has been built on the work of engineers in the past. 
• Hope for the Future: He praises current engineers for building innovative solutions and confidently states they will lead India toward becoming a "Viksit Bharat"—a developed, advanced nation.

Engineers: The Backbone of Contemporary India

Engineers are the ones shaping our lives everywhere. Here are the major things they do for India: 

• Construction of roads, bridges and dams.
• Creating new applications, medical equipment and machines. 
• Introducing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and clean energy.

The official theme of 58th Engineers Day in 2025 is “Deep Tech and Engineering Excellence: Driving India’s Techade”, which is a reflection of the national trend to such high-tech solutions as AI, robotics, and sustainable engineering.  

Indian Engineers Role in the Vision of Viksit Bharat

The country of India has had its development path that has been heavily reliant on its stock of talented engineers, who are currently the mainstay of contemporary nation-building. With powerful governmental efforts, engineers in India are not merely directing the infrastructure in the nation, such as highways, metro, intelligent cities, but have also been contributing to sectors like defence, space, nuclear energy and green technology.

Currently, the engineers are being provided with industry-ready skills via government initiatives such as Skill India Digital Hub to address the ever-evolving technological environment. More than 3,500 startups have already been incubated by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to assist engineers in turning new ideas into job-creating companies. The engineering colleges and polytechnics around the nation are being updated by the MERITE scheme, being implemented  under the National Education Policy, to enable students to get access to the modern laboratories and multidisciplinary learning.

The outcomes of such shared work can be seen through the fact that India is currently one of the world leaders in technologies, whether this is the creation of a world-class digital infrastructure, such as Aadhaar and UPI, the development of green projects that make India one of the leading countries in terms of renewable energy use, or the latest achievements in artificial intelligence and robotics. Engineers are advancing the research, commercialization, and employment in areas that will form the future of the country with 25 Technology Innovation Hubs, and the creation of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation.

Through these efforts, India’s engineers are not just living up to the legacy of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, they are proving themselves as crucial architects of a Viksit Bharat, steering the nation towards a future that is innovative, sustainable, and inclusive. 

How is Engineer’s Day celebrated?

All over the country:

• Special events and exhibitions are organized in colleges and schools.
• Institutes hold workshops, lectures and quizzes.
• Engineering achievers are awarded.
• Children are encouraged to get into engineering and contribute to real-life issues.

Why This Day Matters

It is not merely a time to reflect on the past, but make plans on how to go forward in a better way, Engineers Day. It inspires young Indians to think big, be innovative and make India develop. To have a developed (Viksit) Bharat, engineers play a vital role as PM Modi referred to. 

In conclusion, with creative efforts in deep tech and sustainable solutions, Indian engineers are continuously building a stronger, smarter, and more inclusive future. This day inspires the next generation to dream big and engineer India’s progress with passion and purpose. 

Forensic science is changing the manner in which the police and investigators solve crimes worldwide including India. High technology ensures that it is easy to apprehend the right criminal, deliver justice more quickly, and to back up the courts with good evidence. In this article, a look at ten powerful forensic technologies that are changing the crime investigation are listed for forensic science aspirants researching technologies to master. .  

10 Forensic Science Technologies in 21st Century 

1. Next-Generation DNA sequencing (NGS)

NGS is an enhancement to the DNA tests that we are familiar with. The technology is able to analyze the tiniest or oldest DNA samples and it is able to process large numbers of samples simultaneously. It is assisting the police to connect suspects to crime scenes with a high degree of accuracy, including damaged evidence or those that are decades old. 

2. Next Generation Identification (NGI) System

The law enforcement in India is shifting towards biometric databases such as the NGI. In addition to fingerprints, this system captures the iris scan and facial recognition to enable criminals to be found quicker, track repeat offenders, and match people even if their details have changed over time.

3. Automated Bullet and Gun Recognition

Bullet marks and gun data are now checked instantly by new computer programs eliminating mistakes. Police are now able to use tools such as the Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) to compare thousands of cases and solve gun crimes by using evidence that is admissible in court.

4. Digital Forensics and Blockchain

As crime data is stored in the cloud, forensic experts keep data secure and immutable with blockchain. Computers, mobiles and even gaming systems can be analyzed to monitor illegal actions promptly which decreases the risk of tampering. Aspirants with an interest in blockchain and digital forensics can master this and build a lucrative career. 

5. Omics Forensic Entomology

“Omics” sciences are able to examine insect DNA at scenes of murder to reveal when and connections. This assists in solving tricky cases, particularly in the varied climates in India. This advanced use of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic sciences to analyze insect evidence in forensic entomology is still an emerging niche especially in India but knowing about this technology before it comes in demand is beneficial. 

6. AI and Advanced Image Recognition

Artificial intelligence has moved to the stage where it automatically analyzes fingerprints, faces, and even patterns of bloodstains. Artificial intelligence is used to accelerate investigations, compare crime scene photos or prints, and reduce police workload. 

7.  Portable Field Devices

With these devices it is possible to check drugs or toxins or even fingerprints on the spot. Devices such as Foldscope (a paper microscope), nanosensors, or mobile labs, which can be incredibly useful in rural India or congested urban areas, are helpful in crime investigation. 

8. Predictive DNA Phenotyping

New labs are able to determine hair, skin and eye color of a suspect based on the DNA and this is used when a suspect is not known. This provides the police with additional clues using fewer clues.

9. 3D and High-Speed Imaging

High-speed and 3D cameras provide a new perspective on crime scenes, whether it is 3D modeling of bones or the tracking of bullet movements. These inventions aid the professionals to rebuild the incidents and bring the facts to the court in a visual manner.

10. State of the art Blood and Toxicology Testing

Such devices as LC-MS/MS detect prohibited substances, toxins, and even contemporary designer medications in the blood of an individual with invincible precision. The technology is useful in capturing criminals, exoneration, and learning new threats.

Importance of Being Familiar with such Forensic Technologies

To future forensic practitioners and students, it is not just an academic requirement that you become acquainted with these current forensic technologies, but it is an opportunity for high-paying, high-impact careers that can bring justice and benefit to society. The increased attention to scientific investigation of crimes in India has to do with the fact that skilled technologists and scientists have never been as required as they are today. 

To prepare, students are advised to pursue undergraduate forensic science programs that incorporate the use of these advanced tools, stay abreast of new technologies such as AI and DNA phenotyping, and apply to internships in certified laboratories. Evaluators and schools should constantly revise the curriculum to align with the international standards so that by the time graduates leave, they are well prepared to handle sophisticated crimes with confidence and integrity. Learning these technologies will not only make you a better prospect in terms of your career but will also help create a safer and fairer India, with science taking the lead over crime.

In conclusion, as crime rates and complexity of cases increase, these forensic technologies will guarantee faster and more dependable justice to all. With the implementation of these tools by Indian police and courts, cases will be solved more, wrongful arrests will decrease, and society will be more secure.

There’s a popular adage - “Fast, cheap, good—pick two.” Pursue all three, and you risk collapse. Now, transpose that logic to the Indian development model, and a similarly impossible triangle emerges—except this one decides the future of half the population.

In India’s case, the three corners are female labour force participation (FLFP), care infrastructure, and demographic stability. Strengthen one, and the other two teeter. Ignore one, and the whole structure falters. It’s not just a policy dilemma—it’s macroeconomics cracking under a gendered fault line.

The Numbers Show Growth. The Reality Reveals Strain.

The spike from 23.3%female labour force participation in 2017–18 to 41.7% in 2023–24 deserves scrutiny, not celebration. Much of the increase comes from rural India, driven by distress, not opportunity. Women are entering informal, unpaid, or subsistence-level work—not careers that empower, but jobs that barely sustain.

Even in urban, formal sectors, the dropout rate is alarming. Nearly 50% of women leave the labor force between ages 30 and 40—just when caregiving needs are highest. Motherhood, care for elderly, and domestic work conflict with career goals. It's not a "choice" when there are no options provided by society. It's quiet surrender.

The Invisible Economy India Refuses to Account For

Unpaid care work continues to be India's invisible engine of households. Millions of women wake up daily to cook, clean, nurse, educate, plan, and keep families together—without contracts, paychecks, or state acknowledgement.

Indian women spend an average of five hours every day on unpaid domestic work; men get through only one. Globally, unpaid care accounts for over 7.5% of India’s GDP—more than we spend on health or education. Yet, it goes uncounted and unsupported.

Without a care economy—affordable childcare, elderly services, domestic help—women are forced out of the paid workforce. Careers end not due to lack of skill or ambition, but because there’s no infrastructure to share the burden.

Falling Fertility and the Price of Aspiration

India’s fertility rate has dipped to 1.9—below the replacement threshold of 2.1. In metros, it’s even lower. Couples are increasingly opting for DINK (Double Income, No Kids) lifestyles. It isn’t a rejection of family—it’s a reflection of systems that make parenthood unaffordable.

There’s little to no institutional support: minimal parental leave, negligible workplace flexibility, and no local childcare access. Fertility is falling not because people don’t want children—but because the cost of raising them is too high, emotionally and economically. This mirrors the demographic crises already battering Japan and South Korea.

We Can’t Patch a Systemic Crisis

India’s efforts, like the Palna Scheme (2,688 creches for ~57,000 children), are symbolic at best. Compare that to France, which spends 2.5% of GDP on childcare, or Sweden’s 480-day paid parental leave model. Even South Korea is now trialing four-day work weeks to ease family stress.

India’s ambition to become a “Viksit Bharat” hinges not only on digitisation or defence—but on how we treat care as infrastructure. Tax credits for caregivers, employer-supported childcare, public-private creche partnerships, and community-based care solutions aren’t luxuries. They are lifelines.

Care Is Not a Private Problem. It’s a Public Priority.

If India wants women to participate in the economy, have children, and lead fulfilled lives, the care economy cannot be an afterthought. It must be front and centre in policy, budgeting, and social reform.

We ask women to rise, but hand them broken ladders. We laud working mothers, but build no scaffolding to hold them up. We want economic growth—but ignore the invisible labour enabling it.

India’s triangle—labour, care, and demography—can become a virtuous cycle. But only if we stop demanding impossible trade-offs from its women. The future won’t be built in boardrooms alone. It begins in kitchens, creches, and caregiving routines we’ve long ignored.

Teaching Children to Travel Before They Literally Start Piling Their Bags

There's an old adage which gets quoted so extensively amongst travelers: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." In a country like India, that book is not merely thick but an encyclopedia of cultures, landscapes, tongues, and tales. But for schoolchildren by the millions, journeys have been the domain of book pages, sepia photographs, and the occasional summer vacation. The Ministry of Tourism, in its recent move, has altered all this. By making itself child-friendly on its Incredible India website, India has, as it were, created an endless classroom where geography, history, and culture become touchable—not recollected facts but to-be-touched.

This is not simply revamping a government portal. It's an unobtrusive revolution in how we think education must be. That we would create things specially for kids—interactive maps, digital stories, quizzes, trivia, and colorful pictures—underscores an awareness that education cannot be lowered to words and chalk. It requires movement, color, questioning, and most importantly, awe. That is precisely what travel offers, albeit virtually.

From Monuments to Memories

Think of how Indian textbooks typically introduce places. The Taj Mahal is presented as a Mughal wonder in marble. Rajasthan forts are categorized under medieval architecture. Kerala backwaters perhaps find a fleeting mention in geography texts on water bodies. They are presented as dead facts without any heart, to be memorized for a test. What the Incredible India website does is present them with a story which gives their heart to them.

A child who comes to the site does not only know that Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century; they are also exposed to Shah Jahan's dream, Yamuna river glimmering its brightness, and the artists' sweat chiseling out its stones. They don't only witness Rajasthan's forts as ruins—instead, they hear the voice of victories attained and the wars fought. The backwaters of Kerala are no longer blue lines on a map; they are waterways lined with houseboats plying down and festivals breaking out.

When children learn this way, they don't just recall the dates but the feelings—a connective emotional bond to heritage, one that textbooks are unable to create.

Education Meets Exploration

The brilliance of the project lies in its timing. Today, in the post-pandemic world, distance learning is no longer an add-on; it's standard for tens of millions of students. Yet, much of it is passive— hearing lectures, reading out of slides, or clicking on MCQs. By combining travel and learning, the Incredible India portal combines a pinch of fun. Games as experiments, smile-wink maps that winkle back, and questionnaires that question incite discovery rather than passive skimming.

It's fully in accord with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP), which promotes experiential and interdisciplinary study. Travel, of course, is the most interdisciplinary topic there can be—geomorphology, history, anthropology, economics, ecology, even literature are all up for grabs. When the child discovers the Himalayas through the website, he is learning geology, biodiversity, mythology, and mountaineering in entirety. When he visits Varanasi, he feels the coming together of religion, art, town planning, and philosophy. This is exactly the kind of coming together of knowledge that is encouraged in NEP.

Travel as a Civic Teacher

Apart from studies, travel—real or imaginary—learns lessons that no school can teach. It makes them tolerant, respectful of nature and culture, and compassionate. This project exposes them to India's diversity early in life and makes them good students, but good citizens as well. A child who has learned to appreciate the Sundarbans' fragile ecosystem will be worried about global warming by nature. A child who has learned about the Kutch weavers' craft will naturally respect traditional lifestyles.

The Incredible India website thus does more than generate wanderlust; it sows seeds of responsibility. It says to kids: this is your heritage, your country, your duty to protect.

Challenges Ahead

Of course, no editorial ever is without noting omissions. With all its promise, such an on-line site has the potential to be elitist unless it is democratized. Private school children in the urban areas might learn lots, but rural India where the internet hasn't reached yet, what happens there? If mobility is the new teacher, then access needs to be normative. That means not just internet infrastructure but incorporation into school syllabi so that all the kids, irrespective of where they are from, can start this digital journey.

The second problem is depth. The platform can get children to learn about destinations, but will it also get children to think? Will it rise above nice pictures to discuss sustainable tourism, preservation of historic sites, and how tourism affects societies? The responses will tell us whether or not this is still a wishful exhibit case or otherwise a real learning tool.

A Vision Larger Than Tourism

At its essence, though, this project is not necessarily a vision of tourism. It's an acknowledgment that tourism is not necessarily holidays, Instagram selfies, and souvenirs. Tourism is pedagogy—pedagogy of questioning, pedagogy of listening to tales, pedagogy of writing difference. And by doing that with children, India has taken tourism out of being a consumerist luxury commodity but as a pedagogical tool and a nation-building device.

The Road Ahead

With strong leadership, this revolution can transform traveling and learning. Consider school assignments where kids plot travel routes for social studies class. Consider cyber pen-pal programs where students from various states learn about each other's local landmarks. Consider national tests where kids are tested not on memorization but on knowing storytelling heritage. The future is as vast as the nation itself.

In converting travel into the new classroom, India has made a huge leap. But long leaps, like long travels, are an incremental journey. The direction of this movement will be based on how it gets expanded, how it reaches so close, and how it inspires on an ongoing basis.

At least for the time being, here's what's certain: next generation Indians may not have known the nooks and crannies of their own nation, but through Incredible India's website, they will know it, love it, and, perhaps one day, reclaim it. And that's the real alchemy of education by tourism.

In 2014, when the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched, everyone ridiculed it as another slogan, another anniversary on the government calendar. But a decade down the line, the broom has swept away much more than roads—it has swept away the attitude of indifference, lethargy, and the belief that cleanliness is not one's concern. And now that the Limca Book of Records has authenticated it as the world's biggest cleanliness drive, not only has the movement gained legitimacy, but also attained immortality in the pages of history.

What's remarkable about this feat is not really the figures themselves—though they are staggering. Over 100 million toilets were built. Entire villages declared open-defecation free. Cities experimenting with waste segregation and plastic prohibition. These figures add up. But above all is the change in attitude. A child scolding her father for littering, a school teacher organizing children on a cleanliness procession, a neighborhood raising money to fix a broken drain—such little stories hardly get any publicity, yet they are the very beat of Swachh Bharat.

Cleanliness was treated as cosmetic effort for far too long, something done in advance of festivals or VIP visits. The mission defied that assumption, teaching us that sanitation isn't about appearance—it's about equality, health, and dignity. A toilet in a rural home is a woman no longer waiting till dark to use the toilet. A garbage-free street means fewer sick children from infection. A plastic-free school means future generations to develop an instinctive desire to conserve, not contaminate.

The Limca Book of Records award is not just a certificate. It is a reflection held against us, indicating to us that we, the masses, did it. Governments can launch schemes, allocate budgets, and design a campaign. But any cleanliness campaign can never succeed unless people raise the broom—literally and metaphorically. In that context, Swachh Bharat is perhaps India's most democratic movement in the past few years. It is so much the ragpicker's as it is the Prime Minister's who professed it.

Naturally, there are issues. Mountain-high trash dumps still line our cities. Rivers continue to carry untreated sewerage. Behaviour change is unstable, all too likely to be cast aside when convenience is called for. The journey from one campaign to perpetual cultural shift is a long, unfinished one. 

Can we move beyond symbolism and selfies, beyond broom photo-ops, and make cleanliness a part of our habits? Can education systems integrate sanitation awareness as seriously as they integrate mathematics? Can cities create systems that are simpler to obey than to defy? For record books' notice is a privilege. But recognition in our own day-to-days, in the manner in which we live and tend to our world—that is the reward we should seek.

Swachh Bharat is no more limited to a story of toilets and dustbins. It is about reclaiming dignity, health, and pride from our shared spaces. If the Limca Book of Records calls it the world's largest cleanliness drive, we need to make it the longest one as well. Because a clean India is not something we do for others—it is something we owe to ourselves, and to those who follow us.

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.

Armed with nothing but handwritten notes, borrowed books, a laboratory of meagre means and a mind of magnificent depth, C.V. Raman had once proved to the world that scientific genius was not bound by geography or a free country- but a free mind. A spark of pride lit up then colonized India when C.V. Raman brought a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. Raman's triumph was not personal. It was National.  

After him came legends like Srinivasa Ramanujan, Homi Bhabha, and Meghnad Saha who emerged as torchbearers of a generation who believed that science could change lives.

But today, that altar gathers dust.

At times when technology defines power, India's elite institutions like the IITs shine globally producing world-class engineers, data scientists, and AI pioneers. The top international tech firms of India, drive Silicon Valley unicorns, and publish in prestigious journals. But how many of these brilliant minds pursue original scientific research on Indian soil? How many walk the path of curiosity that Raman once did?

The answer is sobering.

Nearly 30–40% of top IIT graduates now leave India annually in search of better academic and research opportunities. The rest are absorbed into corporate jobs that, while lucrative, rarely reward scientific risk-taking or fundamental innovation. The tragedy isn’t a lack of talent—it’s a systemic failure to nurture it.

Every year we mark National Science Day with lofty speeches, name institutions and roads after our scientific giants, and quote their brilliance on banners and in textbooks. And yet, come the next day, we return to a system that fails to build the very ecosystem they once thrived in.

What we lack is not talent—it is research funding, mentorship pipelines, institutional autonomy, and most critically, the cultural imagination to see science not as a mere career path, but as a calling—a lifelong pursuit of truth, no matter how inconvenient or uncertain. India must learn to dream beyond global rankings and tech placements. We must revive the spirit of fearless inquiry, where asking questions matters more than scoring marks, and where institutions empower young minds to explore, not just execute.

The question isn’t whether India has the minds—it always has.

The question is—do we have the will to let them soar?

This brain drain is not a figure—it's a symptom. Indian higher education, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, has been quietly transformed to supply the global labor market, instead of creating global innovation. Our best students are not abandoning science—they're being routinely pushed out of it, by under-resourced labs, antiquated research institutions, red tape, and sheer absence of reward for risk-taking and innovative thinking.

Meanwhile, our public universities—once cradles of discovery—are decaying, chronically short of funds, faculty, and vision. Raman himself emerged from a humble Calcutta University lab, not a gleaming, globally ranked campus. 

The real tragedy isn’t that India lacks Nobel-worthy minds. It’s that we’ve created an ecosystem where even if they exist, they are more likely to be recognized abroad than supported at home.

The reckoning hour has come for the country. India requires a science policy that values blue-sky research over mindless benchmarks, invests in universities along with top institutions, and renders it economically sound for the next C.V. Raman to remain, to innovate, and flourish here.

We can't continue to be a country that produces brilliance but imports innovation. Indian science's next phase calls for more than infrastructure—it calls for imagination, investment, and integrity.

Until then, our celebrations of Raman will remain just that—nostalgic echoes of a scientific golden age we’re no longer building toward.

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.

India's rise to third position in the world in terms of research paper retractions, after only the United States and China, should stir the country to introspection, not despair. Alarming as the increasing number of retractions may be, is the institutional lethargy that has permitted scholarly malpractice to simmer undetected for years.

So far, the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) has favored quantity over quality, where institutions have rewarded paper numbers and not academic integrity. That policy is now changing. From 2025, NIRF will start penalizing institutions for retracted papers. It is a good decision, but belatedly so.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is in the news after retired professor Rajeev Kumar blamed his former PhD student Om Prakash for pilfering and publishing his work in an IEEE journal without permission. The questionable paper, Detection of Fake Accounts on Social Media Using Multimodal Data With Deep Learning, was released on August 7, 2023, with seven co-authors from other institutions. The question is: why are professors at esteemed institutions being unethical — or are they being forced to be?

Some of the high-profile examples are like Prof. Zillur Rahman's case from IIT Roorkee who is representative of this broader malaise. Even though five of his papers were retracted between 2004 and 2020 for plagiarism, duplication, and dubious data, he continued to serve as dean up to May 2025. When whistleblower Achal Agarwal from India Research Watchdog brought the matter to the attention of the institute, he was ignored. Neither the professor nor the institute gave any response.

Figures from post-pub indicate that the retraction rate for India rose from 1.5 per 1,000 articles in 2012 to 3.5 in 2022. Pressure to publish—particularly on aspiring PhDs and young teaching faculty—is real. However, the underlying issue is the lack of legal protection. Whereas nations like Denmark and the UK have an independent agency to probe research misconduct, India lacks one. Rather than addressing complaints, they are shuffled between regulatory bodies such as the UGC and Department of Science and Technology—typically with no follow-up.

Even among public universities, the rot does not stop. Private colleges, influenced by the NIRF's measurements, tend to pressure professors to produce research without proper funding. It is no surprise that this creates hasty, subpar publications—many in predatory journals that bypass quality checks altogether.

A few institutions like BITS Pilani are already leading the way by establishing Research Integrity Offices and making ethics training investments reducing AInxiety in students and professors.. Isolated interventions, however, cannot repair a damaged system. It’s a game of quality vs. quantity — which one wins?

The forthcoming Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) can provide more regulatory bite. But with or without participation by state governments, it is questionable whether it will be effective.

If India wants to be a world center for research, integrity cannot be a choice. Academic dishonesty must have actual, career-changing penalties. Otherwise, the harm to India's reputation as scholars will go on—beneath the radar, but never-ending.

Bio: Nibedita is an independent journalist honoured by the Government of India for her contributions to defence journalism. 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.

As a society, we often prioritise academic achievement over the emotional well-being of our children. The stress of shifting schools and cities can have a profound impact on young minds, leading to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and isolation.