The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme application process is open till February 15. Candidates can fill the IGNOU MBA admission 2026 application form through the official website, ignou.ac.in.

The IGNOU 2026 MBA admission application fee is Rs 300. As per the IGNOU MBA admission eligibility criteria, candidates must have completed a three-years bachelor's degree with at least 50 per cent marks. The pass percentage for the reserved category candidates is 45 per cent.

IGNOU MBA Admission 2026: Steps to apply online

To apply for IGNOU MBA admission 2026, candidates need to follow the below mentioned steps-

Step 1: First of all, go to the IGNOU official website, ignou.ac.in

Step 2: Click on the ‘IGNOU MBA Application Form 2026’ application link available on the homepage.

Step 3: Complete the registration process using a valid email ID and mobile number.

Step 4: Log in and proceed to fill in the form with the personal and educational details.

Step 5: Upload recent photos and documents in a prescribed format.

Step 6: Make payment of the IGNOU MBA application fee 2026.

Step 7: Once done, submit the application form, download the confirmation page and save it for record.

IGNOU MBA programme specialisation

IGNOU MBA programmes provide specialisations in various fields such as business administration, agribusiness management, construction management, financial management, health care and hospital management, human resource management, logistics and supply chain management, marketing management and operations management.

Via the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) method, the MBA programme is available in English, Hindi and Odia language for the selected courses by IGNOUs School of Management Studies (SOMS).

This course lasts for a minimum of 24 months and a maximum of 48 months. The total cost of IGNOU MBA fee is Rs 66, 000. The students are required to pay Rs 16, 000 each for the first, second and fourth semesters and Rs 18, 000 for the third semester.

Farmers' applications under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather, Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in Dakshina Kannada have been increasing year after year over the last five years, the Union Ministry of Agriculture has informed.

Applications have risen from 56, 114 in 2020, 21 to 2.77 lakh in 2024, 25, Ramnath Thakur, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said in the Lok Sabha on February 10.

Applications grew to 92, 238 in 2021, 22, to 1.43 lakh in 2022, 23 and to 2.25 lakh in 2023, 24. The total number of applications over five years was 7.95 lakh, the Minister informed while responding to the question of Captain Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament of Dakshina Kannada.

Of ₹1,115.78 crore of reported claims under the two insurance schemes, ₹1,110.41 crore were paid, and claims to the tune of ₹5.37 crore were pending to be settled during the five-year period, he said.

The Minister said a majority of the admissible claims under PMFBY were settled within the stipulated timelines under the operational guidelines of the scheme by the insurance companies. However, during the implementation of the scheme, some complaints were received in the past about payment of claims which are primarily on account of delay in providing State government share of subsidy; non-payment/delayed payment or under payment of claims on account of incorrect/delayed submission of insurance proposals by banks; discrepancy in yield data and consequent disputes between State Government and insurance companies etc.

“The pending claims on account of these issue are settled after their resolution as per provisions of the scheme,” the Minister said.

Both PMFBY and RWBCIS are mainly implemented on an ‘area approach’ basis. In addition, comprehensive risk coverage for farmers’ crops against all non-preventable natural risks — from pre-sowing to post-harvest stages — is provided under the scheme at a very minimum premium.

Admissible claims, in this case, are worked out and paid directly to the insured farmer’s account by the insurance companies through the DigiClaim module on the National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP), based on the yield data per unit area furnished to the insurance company by the concerned State government and the claim calculation formula envisaged in the operational guidelines of the scheme. As the claims are being worked out on an average shortfall in yield, specific reasons for crop loss are not recorded.

The Minister added that the arecanut crop has been notified in various districts of Karnataka under the RWBCIS for the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, and insurance compensation is provided under the said scheme in case of crop loss due to weather conditions.

Reviews, revisions, rationalisation and improvements in the crop insurance schemes are a continuous process and decisions based on suggestions, representations or recommendations of the stakeholders are taken from time to time, he said. Based on the experience gained, views of various stakeholders and with a view to ensure better transparency, accountability, timely payment of claims to the farmers and to make the scheme more farmer friendly, the government has periodically revised the operational guidelines of the PMFBY comprehensively in 2018, 2020 and 2023 to ensure that the eligible benefits under the scheme reach the farmers timely and transparently, the Minister said.

In the lead to technology, driven governance and sustainable agriculture, the Andhra Pradesh Department of Agriculture sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wadhwani AI, New Delhi, through which the two organizations will combine efforts to bring artificial intelligence to agricultural management and farmer services.

The MoU was signed at the Velagapudi Secretariat by Agriculture Director Dr Manazir Jeelani Samoon in the presence of Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) B Raja Sekhar. JP Tripathi, Director at Wadhwani AI, was the signatory on behalf of the AI research organisation.

The use of artificial intelligence in farmer services is one of the primary goals of the partnership, which sees the introduction of AI, powered tools for real time crop monitoring, early identification of pest and disease outbreaks, and farmers' data driven advisories. Such an initiative signifies a radical departure from traditional reactive approaches towards predictive and preventive agricultural management.

Government officials revealed that AI will be used to study satellite imagery, weather data, and field level inputs for predictive analytics that will be able to pinpoint patterns of crop losses, the proper use of water and fertilisers, and overall farm productivity.

These predictive insights are expected to help farmers and government officials to make timely and evidence- based decisions.

The project will be launched gradually, Wadhwani AI will provide technical support, capacity building, and training to agriculture department officials and farmers. The goal is to ensure that AI tools are user, friendly, locally relevant, and scalable to district level.

Officials pointed out that the project conforms well with India's Digital Agriculture Mission and the agriculture sector's shift towards data- driven governance in general.

Against a backdrop of challenges, such as climate variability, pest resistance, and increasing input costs, AI based solutions are becoming indispensable, through their capability to support the development of climate, resilient and sustainable farming systems.

The Andhra Pradesh government has been quite proactive in leveraging digital tools in agriculture besides mobile, based advisories, monitoring of soil health, and precision farming. The partnership with Wadhwani AI will be a great addition to these initiatives by means of providing farm analytics and machine learning capabilities on a wide scale.

According to experts, these types of collaborations not only lead to better farm productivity but also help in developing skills, spreading agri, tech knowledge, and fostering innovation; thus, they play a crucial role in bringing the latest technology research in line with the everyday needs of farmers at the grassroots level.

As board examinations begin across the country, mental health professionals are witnessing a sharp rise in stress and anxiety among students. Pune-based child psychiatrist Dr Bhooshan Shukla says the pressure during the board exam season is so intense that it significantly alters clinical patterns.

Q: What should be the role of parents in helping their children's mental health during board exams?

Dr Shukla: A lot of this depends on what relationship they have built up to this point.

If you have a relationship where you are a partner of your child in the studies, then you already have a plan of how the two of you are going to prepare and how the last days before the exams are going to be.

If your job has mainly been of, say, a supervisor, then that is what you continue to do. But by supervisor, I mean that your child has actually listened to you for the last one year. So there is a plan which you supervise, and the child has agreed that you will be their supervisor and they actually let you do that, and that has happened through the year.

The third version, which I believe is true for almost 80% of the families, is where parents’ get involved every now and then and try to motivate their children in some way or the other to study, and the children are largely either ignoring the parents or getting into conflict with them. If this has been your relationship for the past entire year, then right now is the time to actually step back and let the child do their thing.

Because you have tried your thing for an entire year or 2 years and it hasn't exactly gone according to your plans. So at least at this point of time you need to step back.

Q: What should be the role of teachers, schools, and tuition teachers at this time?

Dr Shukla: To tell you very honestly, schools and teachers have been doing the same thing over and over for years. They are unlikely to take advice from a child psychiatrist or any mental health professionals. Their typical stand is that we have been doing this every year, we have turned out champions. We know what we are doing.

Tuition teachers never get alerted. When do the schools get active? When either one of the children kills themselves, or at least says that they are going to end their life. That is when everybody suddenly wakes up and starts looking for a mental health expert.

The thing is that the stress bursting mechanism or the resilience has to be built over a period of time. Constantly giving threatening messages to children and telling them that they are going to go to hell if they don't behave, that doesn't really generate that environment.

So in this last month, I think the simple job the teachers and even parents have is quite similar, is to encourage the children. Say “Yes you can do it. Go ahead, you will be fine”.

Q: What can the students themselves do to keep their mental health safe?

Dr Shukla: It's very contrarian advice to what their teachers and their parents are going to tell them. But I give this advice from two standpoints: one as a mental health doctor and second as someone who has consistently aced these exams.

1. You must sleep for 7 to 8 hours everyday. Sleep is absolutely golden.
2. You have to have 45 minutes to one hour of exercise or play every day, even on the evening before the exam. That's the greatest stress buster you can ever have. You physically sweat it out and you are fine.
3. If you are into some kind of performing art like music, dancing, whatever, you need to do that every day. Something that uses totally different circuits of your brain than what you use for studying.
4. You have to eat less. You don't have to starve yourself but stay off sugars, stay away from chocolate. Have multiple but small meals instead of those big chunky meals twice in the day. That keeps you sharp.
5. Hydration is very important. People forget to drink water. I might sound like a grandmother but it boils down to these small things.

An awareness programme at Warangal on Tuesday to mark the International Pulses Day featured a talk on the essential role of pulses in human nutrition, soil health, and sustainable agriculture.

The Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) and Telangana Rythu Vigyan Kendra (RVK), Warangla, the two major organisers of the event, brought together agricultural scientists, farmers, and students. They also stressed the importance of pulse cultivation as India's food systems.

1. Uma Reddy, Associate Director of Research, Central Telangana Zone, pulsed plants being an important source of essential nutrients and a major source of plant protein in Indian diets. R. Uma Reddy, Associate Director of Research, Central Telangana Zone, also said that pulses not only add flavor and nutrition to meals, but that the pulse crop also improves soil fertility. She said that through biological nitrogen fixation, pulses can naturally fix nitrogen in the soil and therefore their role in sustainable farming is significant.

Uma Reddy also showed anxiety about the diminishing area of pulse farming in the country. She cautioned that if farmers kept lowering the area for pulses production, the country would have to rely on imports to satisfy the domestic demand, even though India is among the largest producers and consumers of pulses in the world.

In his speech, without repeating what had already been said, A. Vijaya Bhaskar, Coordinator of RVK Warangal, identified pulses as the main support of sustainable agro, food systems and thus agro, pulse systems. He explained that pulses are a major source of soil health which is a direct consequence of their ability to reduce the dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote climate, resilient agricultural practices. Pulses are at once the food of soil and the food of man. They are hence essential to the greening of the earth and to the good health of its inhabitants, A. Vijaya Bhaskar mentioned.

During the International Pulses Day, working with frameworks farmers that produced record pulses yields were honoured for their great contribution to sustainable agriculture. Moreover, different kinds of pulses were cooked in a contest to display the nutritional and culinary potential of pulses. Participating students in the event were awarded certificates.

Top agricultural scientists in a discussion with local farmers, showed the farmers new pulse varieties, the best seeds, and modern cultivation techniques that will help to increase productivity and income.

Highlighting the social responsibility element of the event, the organisers gave pulses to the orphans and the less fortunate families, thus emphasizing the role of pulses in food and nutritional security.

In an agriculture-dependent country like India, the Union Budget is not merely a document of government expenditure; it shapes the future of nearly 140 million farmer families whose livelihoods are directly linked to farming. Agricultural universities and colleges are where the scientists, experts, and policymakers are trained—those who will modernise Indian agriculture in the decades to come. However, the figures in the 2026–27 Budget raise serious concerns on this front. Even as the government keeps talking of "self- reliant farmers" and "modern agriculture, " a drastic 27 per cent cut in the budget for agricultural education and management sharply contradicts these claims.

The budget for agricultural education and management has been slashed from 708.94 crore to 514.87 crore. This reduction is suspected to negatively impact the modernisation of agricultural universities, the establishment of new laboratories, updating curricula, and the availability of qualified teaching staff. The fear that agricultural institutions might eventually become just "degree granting centres" is gaining strength. The issue is quite simple. If the future generation is not equipped with modern technology, data, driven farming, and climate resilient cropping systems, then who will be the ones to solve the agricultural problems of the future?

Contrary to official claims, the budget numbers suggest that efforts to attract youth to agriculture remain largely on paper. Throughout the year, farming and farmers are projected as priorities, but when it comes to allocating resources, long-term investments such as education and research are the first to face cuts.Consequently, farmers are still finding it difficult to get rid of their conventional cultures and habits. The budget 2026, 27 clearly highlights a concentration on the management of short term subsidies and cash transfers only, without an evident willingness of structural and long term reforms. Considerably below the necessity, the allocation appears to be grossly inadequate amidst the increase in input prices and inflation.

The scenario of agricultural research is as desolate as the farming one. The Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) budget has been cut by 4.7 per cent, from Rs 10, 466 crore to Rs 9, 967 crore. The reduction is at a time when climate change is posing new challenges to agriculture through droughts, unseasonal rains, and rising temperatures.

Agricultural policy documents reveal that agricultural research generates returns of around 11.69 for every rupee invested, whereas the returns can be over 20 in animal science. But, nonetheless, the decision to cut down the budget of major organizations such as the ICAR is generally regarded as compromising future food security.

Another revealing aspect of the budget lies in the “revised estimates.” The government had initially planned to allocate an amount of 1.27 lakh crore to agriculture for the year 2025, 26, but the actual expenditure was only 1, 23, 089.30 crore, which is about 3.3 percent less than the target. The unspent 4, 200 crore does not represent savings; rather, it is a signal of the problems the government faces when it wants to implement programmes in the rural areas. While the cost of farming keeps going up, not even the properly funded money is being used, so the little increase in the budget may seem to be dishonest.

Taking the matter from a broader perspective, it is actually quite alarming. Agriculture along with allied sectors contribute around 18 per cent to India's GDP, which is nearly 60 lakh crore. However, the spending on agricultural research and development is only 0.33 per cent of agricultural GDP. Analysts say if India wants to be an internationally competitive agricultural nation, investment in this area should be increased to at least 1 per cent. Even though the share of agriculture in GDP of developed countries is smaller, they invest much more in technology, seeds, and innovation than India does.

The figures of these budgets are very clear that if education and research are not prioritised, Indian farmers could be deserted in the battle against climate change and food insecurity. Self, reliance cannot be based on subsidies alone; it needs robust research ecosystems, up to, date education, and successful implementation. The crops of self- reliance can't grow without knowledge as fertilizer and research as water. The need of the hour is for the government to move beyond announcements and commit to real investment and execution—because the future of Indian agriculture will be secured not by electoral promises, but by the decisions taken today on education and research.

Making a point that traditional knowledge systems of India carry their own value even in the present digital era, famous media academician Sanjay Dwivedi gave a very interesting talk at LNCT University. In this talk, he showed how Indian communication traditions have always influenced journalism and mass communication, and they continue to do so even today.

Dr. Dwivedi, ex, Director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, was the speaker of the talk Indian Knowledge Tradition and Communication, at a seminar hosted by the Indian Knowledge Tradition Cell, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication of LNCT University, Bhopal.

Indian Communication Beyond Information Transfer

In a talk to the students and faculty members, Dr. Dwivedi emphasized that communication in India comprises much more than just the simple exchange of messages; it involves the nurturing of morals, awareness, and a commitment to the public good. Considering the ubiquity of globalisation and digital media platforms which are the major influences of the present day world, he said, it is both appropriate and imperative to review India's indigenous communication systems

Dr. Dwivedi also explained that the sacred Indian texts such as the Vedas and Upanishads, the folk traditions, and cultural narratives are naturally strong in communication features which are fundamentally based on interaction, social consciousness, and sense of responsibility. He saw these as the traditions that give the philosophical foundation to the present day media and journalism ethics in India.

Linking Tradition with Modern Media

According to Dr. Dwivedi, India's traditional knowledge system was a model of participatory communication that allowed for debate, dialogue, and collective engagement. He pointed out that the principles of ethical journalism and community centred reporting could be inspired by these precepts if modern mass communication practitioners were to take a leaf from them.

The talk was presided over by Professor Dr. Anu Srivastava, Head of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, LNCT University.

Interactive Session with Students

The lecture was wrapped up with an interesting Q&A session wherein students questioned the pertinence of Indian communication traditions when it comes to social media, digital journalism, and AI driven news dissemination.

The seminar has been a great academic stimulus for the rising interest in the fusion of Indian knowledge traditions with the contemporary media studies, thus emphasising the necessity of ethics, dialogue, and public welfare in current communication systems.

Dr. Sanjay Dwivedi, the ex-director of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), pointed out that Indian communication is more than just passing on information; it also instills in society ethics, sensitivity, and a spirit of public welfare. In our day, when communication has gone global and is largely digital, it is very pertinent to look into the Indian tradition of communication. The main goals are public welfare and community engagement.

At LNCT University, Bhopal, he spoke on 'Indian Knowledge Tradition and Communication'. Among the institutions that organized the seminar were Indian Knowledge Tradition Cell, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Professor Dr. Anu Srivastava, head of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at LNCT University, Bhopal, chaired the session. While addressing the session, Professor Dwivedi remarked that India's traditional knowledge system has always been a system of dialogue, public awareness and social responsibility. He indicated the communicative components present in the Vedas, Upanishads, folk traditions, and cultural narratives and explained that Indian communication traditions offer a conceptual base for today's media and mass communication.

After the program, a Q&A session was held with the students and they asked some ques

In our times where everything new is being digitized and people have less and less time to focus on things, Somaiya Vidyavihar University decided to emphasize the power of listening which never fades through Afsana 2026 The Somaiya Storytelling Festival, a multi, disciplinary festival that united the old and new storytelling methods.

Besides over ten workshops, participatory sessions, and student, led installations, the festival had more than 30 storytellers, performers, educators, and artists. As it was a kind of immersive learning environment rather than a usual performance event, Afsana 2026 employed the art of storytelling as a means for education, empathy, and cultural awareness.

The festival this year focused on the storytelling traditions of Central India with special emphasis on Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh through the exhibition of regional folklores, Pandwani performance traditions, Bharthari narratives, satire, and tribal storytelling forms. The University has always been a strong advocate of cultural plurality and experiential learning and the event gave expression to the voices and traditions of the marginalized ones who are generally neglected in the mainstream cultural arena.

One of the biggest attractions at the festival was "Maati, " a hybrid eco, story product of puppetry, Gond painting, folk music, and oral storytelling which explored the connection of earth, society and memory. Besides, audience participation was obtained through some interactive workshops and installments which therefore, students and visitors could directly engage with the concept of storytelling as a joint and reflective practice. The festival was inaugurated with performances from grade 1 students of The Somaiya School, who through their act represented in a very significant manner the storytelling as the first human activity and learning becoming its continual evolution. This very first moment of the festival communicated the main idea of the event which regarded stories not just as use of words, but stories are the constitutive elements that shape imagination and emotional understanding. The Chief Guest at the event was the distinguished filmmaker Nikhil Advani who discussed oral storytelling and its impact on cinema and digital narratives. He put forward the idea that the core of storytelling from the film director's perspective is getting the message clearly, the emotional connection, and the strength of the story idea regardless of the medium.

University leadership restated the commitment of the institution to place storytelling central to the academic and cultural ecosystems. Festival organisers argued that programs like Afsana are intended to stimulate creative imagination, critical thinking, and cultural literacy, as well as to provide a living relationship of the essence of tradition and contemporary artistic expression.

Afsana 2026, uniting artists, students, educators, and audiences in a socially participatory setting, was a celebration of storytelling as a living, constantly, evolving art form. The festival ended on the note that, although the world is now moving at an unprecedented speed mainly due to algorithms and instant content, listening as one of the simplest acts, is still one of the most powerful ways to learn, get in touch and understand the richness of the diversity of human experiences.

Underscoring the precarious state of media, writer and former journalist K.R. Meera said on Saturday that information has been weaponised in an era where truth is increasingly difficult to discern.

Delivering the keynote address on ‘Media at the Crossroads: Independence vs Influence’ at the 20th annual national meeting of the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), she called for a radical shift in journalistic conscience.

Speaking to a gathering of women media professionals, Ms. Meera noted that democracy was failing in many parts of the world owing to extreme polarisation and a collapse of public trust.

“Journalism is meant for women,” she remarked, praising the courage of women reporters who challenged power without compromise. She urged journalists to evaluate their work through a moral lens, asking whether their reporting served the poor or their predators.

Pointing to the “cancer culture” of social media, she highlighted how PR-driven narratives influenced perspectives.

A panel discussion on ‘After Speaking Up: What Justice Looks Like for Women in Cinema,’ moderated by journalist K.K. Shahina, saw film editor and curator Bina Paul comment that the power structure in the Malayalam film industry was very punitive to women who spoke up. Those who did so had to pay a high price in terms of their work and reputation.

Ms. Paul said it traditionally had been such a “boys’ club” that any questioning of it had been met with an immense amount of stonewalling.

Both Ms. Paul and actor Rima Kallingal who are part of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) shared their immense belief about the support they would get and the change they would be able to bring in the film industry but had seen that enthusiasm dwindle over the years.

Some changes such as internal committees had been realised, but the system was not kind to women who complained, Ms. Kallingal observed. “I really don’t think these systems care if the women get justice,” she said.

However, she did see a change in the way such cases were reported in the media. Women in media had a huge part in the transformation, she said.

Former journalist and film producer Miriam Joseph said the WCC decided to focus not only on sexual harassment but also other issues faced by women in the film industry such as lack of work, lack of payment, lack of credit, the number of working hours since the industry was completely unregulated.

The evening session also saw the release of a docu-fiction ‘Media Woman: Ammu Joseph’s Passionate Journey’ by Shiny Jacob Benjamin. It has been produced by the Kerala Media Academy.

To develop India's medical research sector with technology, innovation, driven, the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) organised a national workshop on Technological Advances in Healthcare Research for 3 days. The event went through the Anusandhan National Research FoundationPartnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (ANRF, PAIR) programme. The focal point of the program was to facilitate cross-disciplinary research, increase institutional collaborations, and help the use of state of, theart technologies in healthcare and biomedical sciences.

The healthcare sector of the ANRF, PAIR grant being one of the initiatives, the to the central institution is stated to be IIT Hyderabad which is also mentoring five partner or "spoke" institutionsNational Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Raichur, IIIT Dharwad, Pt Ravishankar Shukla University, and the Central University of Andhra Pradesh. Their main goals through this working together are, to raise their research capabilities and establish long term academic and scientific structures.

The workshop had nine invited talks by renowned scientists, clinicians, and technology experts who presented on the most recent and possibly high impact areas of healthcare research. Highlights from the sessions were mass spectrometer, based metabolomics for translation medicine, in vivo imaging technologies for therapeutic development, electroencephalography (EEG) and neuromodulation, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) clinically in healthcare facilities.

Currently, the main highlight was the event that acted as a bridge between engineering, life sciences, and clinical research, and the students had the chance to witness cutting edge tools, methodologies, and real healthcare applications through the eyes of patients.

In addition to that, the workshop led to extended collaboration between the hub and spoke institutions that came about as a result of the workshop. The interactive sessions thus provided lecturers and researchers with a great chance to identify common research interests, consider partnering projects and writing up proposals targeting national healthcare priorities.

Besides, the event coordinators remarked that the programme is consistent with the bigger objective of the ANRF, PAIR initiative, which aims to accelerate innovation through fair and collaborative research partnerships between institutions from different parts of the country. Therefore, they believe that the outcomes of the workshop will be manifested in joint research projects, shared infrastructures, and improved capacity building, which in turn will significantly contribute to India's continuous emphasis on technology, based healthcare research and innovation.

As a major breakthrough in the implementation of scientific policing and fast track justice, Haryana Police on Thursday unveiled a forensic roadmap that lays down a 30 day target for the delivery of forensic reports by 2026.

Haryana Director, General of Police (DGP) Ajay Singhal unveiled the plans, stating that the road map is based on what officials have publicly referred to as the largest, ever expansion of forensic infrastructure and manpower in the state, which was undertaken in 2025, 26.

To justify the approval of such a challenging target, Haryana Police has proposed the addition of 64 forensic posts and acquisition of advanced forensic equipment worth Rs 86.38 crore for the State Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Regional Forensic Science Laboratories (RFSLs), and district forensic units, as has been informed by a police spokesperson.

They will add new DNA divisions in Hisar and Panchkula and expedite the infrastructure works at RFSL Bhondsi and RFSL Hisar, which have been approved for Rs 32.58 crore.

These developments will notably enhance the forensic processing capacity of the state. Official figures reveal that Haryana made significant strides in reducing forensic turnaround times especially in NDPS cases. Reports are now issued within a month and for commercial, quantity cases, within 15 days. The department has achieved an overall increase in case disposal by 28. 6 per cent, while the number of pending cases has gone down by almost 12 per cent, even though more cases have been coming in.

Pointing out how science is gradually becoming an indispensable tool for crime solving, DGP Singhal remarked that scientific proof would progressively become the pillar of law enforcement. “The focus is not only on faster reporting but on ensuring that forensic reports are accurate, legally sound, and capable of strengthening prosecution,” he said.

Singhal added that Haryana has undertaken its largest manpower augmentation in forensic services. Of 243 newly sanctioned posts, 97 appointments have already been completed, while recruitment for 323 additional positions is currently underway. Enhanced staffing, he noted, has improved accuracy, reliability, and reporting speed.

Further strengthening field capabilities, DNA facilities at FSL Madhuban have been upgraded, a new DNA division has been established at RFSL Gurugram, and ballistics and document examination laboratories in Hisar have decentralised access to specialised forensic services. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Haryana has also ensured 100 per cent forensic expert presence at crime scenes.

Besides that, the state government has established 17 mobile forensic units and 10 district forensic laboratories. Digitisation via the Trakea Portal has made case tracking and reporting more efficient, hence giving Haryana a leading position in forensic development.

More crime investigators are required in India due to rising cases of cyber fraud and complicated crimes every year. In search of information, parents look for "criminology course after 12th fees" or "forensic science colleges India." This article provides information on the best colleges, admission requirements, and reasons why the forensic science entrance exam is a ticket to lucrative government jobs.

Why Choose Criminology After 12th

Criminology is the study of why crime occurs and how it can be solved. It is a combination of psychology, law and science. Police, CBI and forensic labs require trained graduates with 63 lakh crimes being reported annually. The initial salaries are between 5 to 8 lakh per annum. Students of science can aspire to work in forensic labs, whereas students of arts seek employment in the police.

The best Criminology Colleges in India 2026.

National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar is the first to offer a BSc Forensic Science and Criminology course. The charges remain at 2.2 lakh in four years with 95 percent placement in CBI and cyber companies. Gujarat Forensic Sciences University has 1.8 lakh in BA Criminology. BTech Police Science is offered in Raksha Shakti University, Ahmedabad, at 3 lakh to IPS aspirants. BA Criminology Hons is offered in Amity University Noida with easy admission via AIFSET. Other than this, distance courses are also available in many universities. 

Forensic Science Entrance Exams: Your Way to the Best Colleges

The best forensic science colleges need CUET UG or university-level entrance exams. NFSU Entrance Test is in May 2026 with applications from March. The exam includes Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths, English, and logical reasoning from class 12. Get 60 percent and above for Gandhinagar or Delhi campuses. CUET UG is applicable for DU, BHU, Amity, and other colleges. Students can also prepare for AIFSET (All India Forensic Science Entrance Test), accepted by 180+ forensic science colleges for direct admission without CUET anxiety. Study NCERT textbooks and practice papers. Mock tests increase speed to answer 120 questions in two hours. 

Why AIFSET for Criminology Course Admission? 

The AIFSET Entrance Test, also known as All India Forensic Science Entrance Test, guarantees that the students admitted to top colleges are keen on pursuing a professional career in the field of criminology and forensic science. 

Admission through AIFSET provides students with a merit-based entry system which ensures academic quality and classroom standards. It also provides fair and transparent opportunities to students from all over India to get admission in one of the trusted institutes in India for criminology with the right set of classmates.

By taking AIFSET for admission, students can start their forensic journey with a solid academic foundation, recognised eligibility, and credibility across the nation which means they are well-prepared for rigorous training, real-world exposure, and future career opportunities  offering competitive salaries.

Fee Comparison for Smart Planning

IGNOU has the lowest fee of 18 thousand rupees for three years. GFSU costs around 1.8 lakh rupees, and NFSU costs 2.2 lakh rupees for four years. DU BA Criminology costs around 60 thousand rupees. BHU BSc Forensic Science costs around 1.5 lakh rupees. Private colleges like Amity go up to 4.8 lakh rupees but promise a seat. Most colleges accept CUET scores except for distance education.

High Paying Jobs After Criminology Graduation

Cyber forensic analysts get 6 to 12 lakh rupees per annum in CERT-In and banks. Police Sub-Inspectors get 44 thousand rupees per month in SSC CPO after graduation. Private investigators get 4 to 7 lakh rupees in big companies. Crime analysts get 5 to 9 lakh rupees in Deloitte. Forensic document experts get 9 lakh rupees in government labs.

Simple Admission Steps

First choose BSc Forensic Science as a science major or BA Criminology as an arts major. Application to CUET UG March 15 to 30. Bring 12 th marksheet, migration certificate and category proof on counselling. NFSU conducts final selection through separate interviews. Classes start in August and results in June.

Free Certifications to Strengthen Applications

Coursera Google Cybersecurity Certificate lasts for three months. NPTEL Forensic Science by IIT Kharagpur lasts for eight weeks. Swayam provides IGNOU Cybercrime Investigation. These certifications are taken before college admission.

Match Course to Your Career Goal

Less than 50 thousand rupees is suitable for IGNOU distance education. Police or IPS service requires Raksha Shakti University. Cybercrime jobs require NFSU Gandhinagar. The simple admission process applies to Amity. Government jobs require GFSU graduates.

Criminology provides a safe career path for crime solving. Do your research first then take any forensic science entrance exam or AIFSET and pursue criminology course from the top college. 

Every year, many students search for the best way to crack an Agriculture Entrance Test such as ICAR AIEEA. With limited seats available in top agricultural universities and increasing interest in B.Sc. Agriculture and similar courses, the competition keeps increasing every year. Many students prepare diligently but still fail to get through because their preparation is not goal-oriented.

If you are aiming for a top rank in ICAR AIEEA 2026 or any major Agriculture Entrance Exam, your preparation strategy should be goal-oriented, smart, and consistent. Here are five practical and proven tips that match the latest exam pattern.

1. Master the NCERT Syllabus

The foundation of every Agriculture Entrance Test is established in Class 11 and 12 NCERT textbooks. Questions from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in ICAR AIEEA are mostly concept-based and linked to NCERT textbooks.

Before proceeding to more difficult textbooks or coaching content, it is essential to have a clear understanding of each chapter. Many top scorers have achieved success by revising NCERT textbooks multiple times. It is essential to have a clear understanding of Biology diagrams, Chemistry reaction mechanisms, and Physics formulas.

Adequate understanding of basics reduces silly errors and increases confidence during the exam.

1. Focus on Biology Scoring Areas

For most agri students, Biology has a large weightage in the final ranking. The most important topics include plant physiology, genetics, ecology, reproduction, and classification.

Instead of mere memorization, the goal is to develop actual understanding. Agriculture students require proper understanding of plant biology, and thus the questions in the exam are mostly analytical and application-based.

Regular practice of Biology terms and working on diagram-based questions can improve accuracy.

1. Practice Previous Year Question Papers

One of the most effective ways to ace ICAR AIEEA is to practice previous year papers. They give an idea about the level of difficulty, type of questions, and important chapters.

Most students overlook this step, but regular practice will help you identify common themes and increase speed. Practice previous year papers under timed conditions to simulate actual exam pressure. Regular practice will also help you get accustomed to negative marking, which is important in these exams.

1. Make a Smart Attempt Strategy

These exams are computer-based, and there is negative marking for incorrect answers. This means that mere random guessing can actually decrease your rank. Instead, use elimination tactics. Attempt the questions you are most confident about. Plan your timing

1. Take Regular Mock Tests and Monitor Your Progress

Mock tests are a must for serious candidates. They help develop a testing rhythm, manage time effectively, and identify areas of improvement. Analyze your performance in each mock test. Identify if the mistakes are due to concepts, calculations, or time constraints. Fill those gaps before the next mock test. Monitor your progress. Measure your scores on a weekly basis to notice consistent improvement before the Agriculture Entrance Exam 2026.

Key Note for Agriculture Entrance Exam Aspirants

It is not about studying for more hours to crack an Agriculture Entrance Test. It is about effective studying. A strong foundation in NCERT, targeted preparation in Biology, solving previous year papers, effective planning, and regular mock tests can make a powerful combination for effective preparation.

Every year, thousands of candidates compete for a few seats in the top agricultural universities. The difference between an average rank and a top rank usually lies in the simplicity and consistency of the preparation strategy.

Prepare early, prepare consistently, and prepare with focus. With the right strategy, a top rank in ICAR AIEEA 2026 or any Agriculture Entrance Exam is within reach.

Worried about a well-paying job in AI? B.Tech (Hons.) in Computer Science Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (CSE AI & ML), is among the rapidly emerging tech courses in India. It is a 4-year course (8 semesters) that gives you the skills to use machine learning algorithms, neural networks, data analytics, and real-life applications of AI. Now is the moment to begin with AI jobs with an average 30 percent growth a year. The following is your all-in-one guide to 2026, including eligibility, entrance examination, best colleges, fees, scope, and career advice.

Why to Pursue B.Tech CSE AI ML (Hons)?

AI is the driving force behind chatbots/models and self-driving vehicles, as well as medical diagnosis. Such honours programme is an extension of usual B.Tech CSE with other advanced courses such as deep learning, natural language processing, and AI ethics. Graduates receive 8-25 LPA initial salaries, positions in Google, Amazon, TCS, and startups. The Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Noida hubs record demand spikes, making this field a good career path to choose.

Eligibility Criteria

• Class 12th: Pass 10+2 with Physics and Mathematics mandatory and Chemistry / Biology / Biotech / any Vocational subject.
• Minimum Marks: 45% aggregate (40% in case of SC/ST/OBC/reserved category).
• Age: There is no age limit although merit seats should be applied at an earlier age.
• Good math (linear algebra, probability, calculus), an introduction to programming (Python), and problem-solving are the keys to success.

Admission 2026 Entrance Exams.

• Primary Exam: GCSET (Global Computer Science Entrance Test) -This exam is required for admission in affiliated colleges in India.
• What it Tests: Math aptitude, logical reasoning aptitude, physics aptitude, basic programmer aptitude, and AI concept aptitude.
• Exam Dates 2026: check the official portal for date.
• Mode: Online, MCQ-based (2 hours).
• Use of Scores: Guarantees admissions in the best AI/ML courses; the higher the rank, the better college selection.

Other ways for gaining admission include, JEE Main (NITs/IIITs/state quotas), State exams such as MHT CET, KCET, direct admission (20-30% seats) on 12 th marks/ interview.

Pro Tip: Study through NCERT books, Python practise (LeetCode), and practise using previous year question papers.

Top Colleges for B.Tech CSE AI ML (Hons) 

1. VIT University
2. K.R. Mangalam University
3. SRM University
4. Chandigarh University 
5. Dayananda Sagar University
6. Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Manipal
7. SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai

Admission procedure Via Entrance Test

• Apply online (gcset.org or jeemain.nta.ac.in) 
• Appear & Qualify: Target good score.
• Counselling: enroll for counselling; select AI/ML college of your choice.
• Document Verification: submit 10 +2 marksheet, ID proof, caste certificate.
• Fee Payment: pay the provisional  admission  fee

Highlights of Curriculum 

• Year 1-2: programming, data structures, math of ML.
• Years 3-4: AI/ML fundamentals (TensorFlow, PyTorch, computer vision, NLP) + honours research project.
• Practical Focus: Internships, hackathons, industry capstone with partners.

Job description and Pay Scale of B.Tech CSE AI ML.

• Job roles: AI Engineer ( 10-20 LPA ), ML Developer ( 12-22 LPA ), Data Scientist ( 15-30 LPA ), Robotics Specialist.
• Best Recruiters: Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, IBM, start-ups such as Fractal Analytics.
• Expansion: 97% enrolment in leading colleges; further M.Tech/PhD to work in research jobs overseas (salaries in US are 100K and above).

2-Step for Success

• Learn: Python/R, libraries (Scikit-learn, Keras), cloud (AWS), soft (teamwork, ethics). 
• Certifications: Google AI, Coursera ML by Andrew Ng resumes are enhanced.

B.Tech (Hons.) CSE AI and ML through GCSET provides access to top AI jobs as soon as you gain expertise. So, if you love to code and wish to make full use of your innovative-mindset, take the entrance test and pursue the CSE course from the top colleges in India. Connect with us @9124573196 for free career consultation before enrolling for any entrance test. 

Board exams are when creative students realise they aren’t meant for rote learning and late night mug up. They end up asking questions like “which creative field can  I choose?” or “Highest paying creative jobs in India.”  If you are creative, love visuals, social media, editing, branding, or digital art, graphic design may already be on your mind.

If you’re in Class 12 or just finished your boards and wish to pursue graphic designing, this guide will give you a clear and honest answer for all major concerns like “Is there an entrance exam to become a graphic designer?” or “How to be a  graphic designer?” Continue reading. 

What is Graphic Designing? 

Graphic designing in simple words means using visuals to appeal to the eyes of viewers and communicate something. It involves designing logos, advertisements, social media creatives, websites, packaging, and digital interfaces. Every brand you see - from food delivery apps to multinational companies, depend on the graphic designers to give them the look and feel.

But graphic design is not simply about making things "look good." It involves understanding human psychology, colour theory, typography, balance of the layout, branding strategy and digital tools. In the digital-first world of today, graphic designers are part of the marketing, business, and technology ecosystems.

Who Should Consider Pursuing a Career in Graphic Design?

Graphic design is best suited for those students who love being creative, telling stories with pictures, and working on projects. If you notice yourself paying attention to the styles of fonts, the layouts of apps, the posts on Instagram, or the banners of advertisements then you already think visually. You do not have to be from an Arts background. Students from Science and Commerce stream also can pursue graphic design after 12th. What is more important than your stream is your curiosity, creativity, and determination to develop skills over and over again.

Is Graphic Design a High Paying Career in India?

Graphic design offers can be financially rewarding but income is highly dependent on the level of skill and specialisation. Entry level designers in india generally start with moderate salaries but the growth may be high, especially in fields like UI /UX design, branding, motion graphics and product design.

The need for designers is still growing as businesses are growing digitally. Startups, marketing companies, tech companies, e-commerce brands, and content platforms are among the places that need visual professionals. Freelancing and remote work have also opened up new ways for earning money, especially for talented designers collaborating with international clients. Graphic design is no longer treated as a "side career." It is a part of India's growing digital economy.

Do You Have to Pass an Entrance Exam for Graphic Design?

Here is the clarity that most students are searching for: You do not have to have a national qualifying exam to work as a legally recognised graphic designer. If you want to get into some of the reputed institutes that offer Bachelor of Design (B.Des) or Graphic Design degree, you may have to go through an entrance examination such as AIDAT. These exams are not for admission into college, but rather to become a designer.

Some of the popular examples of such design entrance tests in India are NID DAT and UCEED. The evaluation of the NIFT entrance examination which is much in the minds of many students was already held this year on 8th February. Students who didn't make it are now finding other methods of entry.

Which Are the Best Design Institutes in India for Graphic Design?

India has some reputed design institutions that offer graphic design and other related programmes. These are National Institute of Design (NID), design programmes offered by IITs in association with UCEED, NIFT and various private designing universities. Admission processes vary. Government institutes typically conduct competitive entrance tests and a number of privately owned institutions may have their own aptitude tests or admit on merit. Choosing an institute depends upon your career goal, budget and learning preference.

Here are the top Design Institutes (private) to consider in 2026:

• MIT ID Avantika University, Madhya Pradesh
• Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab
• GLS University,Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• Alliance University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Ecole Intuit Lab, Delhi
• Silver Oak University, Gujarat 
• CODE-VGU, Jaipur 
• RV University, Bangalore

What Is the Best Entrance Test Apart From NIFT?

There are many design entrance exams, of which NIFT stands out but has high competition and might not be the perfect pick for students who are yet to build exceptional skills/creativity. Additionally, the NIFT exam is over  so if you now decide to step into the design field, this is a closed door for you this year. 

For students that missed NIFT, or students who prefer something a little more accessible, other options exist for graphic design entrance. One option that is gaining preference and is being discussed more and more is AIDAT (All India Design Aptitude Test).

What is the AIDAT Entrance Test? 

AIDAT is a design entrance test conducted in a fully online format, designed to test the creative aptitude of the student rather than rote learning. Since it is 100% online it enables students from all parts of India to participate without needing to travel to the exam centres. This format makes it especially convenient for today's Gen Z learners who like to have flexibility and digital accessibility.

Students who want to pursue a degree course in graphic design but who are less interested in competitive exams, AIDAT is a more flexible access route and has the following features creative students seek:

1. Skills/ aptitude test 
2. No negative marking 
3. Convenience of taking exam from home 
4. Free career consultation before exam
5. Eligible for admission in top 100+ design uni in India 
6. Easy exam MCQ based 

Can You Pursue Graphic Design Without Any Entrance Exam?

Yes, you can. Many diploma and certificate programmes in graphic design are having direct admission after 12th. These programmes put a lot of emphasis on practical skills, software training and portfolio development. For students who want to get into the job market faster, diploma pathways can be effective. 

However, a complete bachelor's degree programme may provide more general academic and campus experiences. The decision of diploma or degree depends on your long-term career goals.

What To Do After Boards If You Are Interested In Graphic Design?

If you are truly interested in graphic design, begin to research course structures, entrance timelines and institutional credibility. Decide whether you want to take a diploma route or you want to take a degree route. If you are interested in obtaining a degree, explore the options for an entrance exam well in advance so that you will not miss deadlines.

Remember, skill and the quality of your portfolio are more important to the design industry than entrance ranks or government institute name on your degree. Entrance exams open doors, but it's your creativity and your dedication that builds your career.

Graphic design is one of the most flexible and opportunity filled careers available after 12th. The design entrance exam is not a barrier, it is just a way. And today, that pathway includes both the traditional means of competitive exams, but also modern and online-friendly ones like AIDAT. So, be wise and pursue a career in graphic designing. 

Forensic science is gradually becoming a serious career option in India as well, particularly among students who are interested in crime investigation, scientific analysis, cyber forensics and criminal justice. With the growing awareness about forensic careers, students are actively looking for good entrance exams for forensic science courses in 2026. Among the available options, AIFSET remains as one of the most searched and relevant entrance exams for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in forensic sciences. 

In this article, you will learn about the top entrance exam for forensic science courses and how you can pursue a degree in forensics in India. Continue reading. 

Why Entrance Exams are important in Forensic Science in India

Unlike traditional science degrees, forensic science programmes are few and far between and are offered by specific universities. To bring merit in admissions, for most of the institutions, entrance examinations are taken into consideration apart from Class 12 or graduation marks. These exams are based on a student's basic science knowledge, logical thinking and aptitude for forensic studies.

For the students who are willing to pursue B.Sc or M.Sc in Forensic Science, the right entrance examination is the first and the most important step.

AIFSET 2026: Primary Entrance Test For Forensic Science Courses

All India Forensic Science Entrance Test (AIFSET 2026) is one of the most relevant national level entrance exams for Forensic Science aspirants in India conducted by Edinbox. It is specifically designed for students who want to take up admission in forensic science programmes and is accepted by various universities which offer specialised courses in this field.

AIFSET is conducted in an online mode which makes it accessible to the students in the entire India without travelling towards it. The examination is based on the testing of general science knowledge, reasoning and English comprehension, and aptitude associated with forensic studies. Because it is not built around the science of forensics but rather on forensic education helps students align with forensic career goals.

For 2026 aspirants, AIFSET is a centralized opportunity to apply to multiple institutions via a common entrance test and this is the reason for the high search interest of AIFSET among students.

Other Forensic Science Admission Exams to Look at in 2026

While AIFSET is a separate forensic science entrance test, it is not the only one available. Some universities accept students to forensic science or related programmes through more general entrance tests.

In 2026, CUET-UG and CUET-PG are still relevant for universities that have forensic science or life science related programmes under their curriculum. These exams are conducted by the National Testing Agency and are utilised by several central and state universities. However, acceptance of the CUET scores for forensic science differs from one university to another, therefore, students must check the individual criteria for admission.

Additionally, many of the private universities have their own institutional entrance tests for forensic science courses. These are good exams if a student has a particular University in mind. Unlike AIFSET, these tests are not multi-college and individual institutions.

Which Entrance Exam to Prefer by Forensic Aspirants in 2026?

For students whose main focus is to study forensic science in particular, AIFSET 2026 is the most focused and practical entrance examination. It is based around forensic aptitude and accepted by several colleges so there is less need to prepare for several different exams that are unrelated.

CUET and university level tests can be considered as extra options, particularly for those who like to keep their options open or may be targeting a specific institution. However, these exams are more generalised in nature and may not always test forensic-specific aptitude.

Forensic Science Entrance Exam Preparation Tip

Preparation for AIFSET and other forensic science entrance exams does not involve advanced knowledge of forensic science. Instead, students should work towards strengthening their basics in science, logical reasoning, as well as comprehension. Regular practice of mock tests, knowing the exam patterns, and keeping a check on the admission timelines are the keys. It is important to start early because the registrations for entrance exams often happen months in advance of the commencement of the academic session.

Forensic science is no longer a niche or experimental career path in India. With the growing demand for well-trained forensic professionals, the need to select the appropriate entrance examination has become very significant. 

In 2026, AIFSET is the most relevant and search-driven entrance test for forensic science courses with the support of CUET, University-level tests as secondary options. Students who plan strategically, prepare effectively for entrance exams, and maintain clear timelines will secure admission to top forensic science programs.

If you are planning to go for an MBA, this phase of your journey is very important. Every year, thousands of students look for the upcoming MBA entrance exams in order to know which entrance exams they need to appear for, when the exams are conducted, and how they should strategically prepare for the exams. The right information, at the right time, does make all the difference.

MBA entrance exams are not merely testing your knowledge. They evaluate your decision-making skills, logical thinking, communication skills and the preparation for a career in management. Understanding the exams that are coming enables you to plan better, avoid stress and increase your chances of getting into a good business school.

Why MBA Entrance Exams are so Important

Top management institutes of India and abroad use entrance examinations to select the candidates for the MBA course. These exams ensure that students coming into the classroom are strong in their analytical skills and ability to perform under pressure.

Each MBA entrance exam has a different set of colleges. Some exams are accepted by the IIMs, some by the private universities and some exams are compulsory for studying MBA abroad. This is why it is extremely important to know which exams are coming up in advance before you start filling application forms.

Upcoming MBA Entrance Exams (February 2026 Onwards)

CMAT 2026

• Registration: November-December 2025 (open now)
• Exam: Late January 2026
• Key Colleges: Great Lakes, Welingkar, KJ Somaiya

MAT February 2026

• Registration: December 2025-January 2026
• Exam: Last week February 2026 (PBT/CBT)
• Key Colleges: 600+ AICTE institutes

GMCAT (Global Management Common Aptitude Test)

• Registration: open 
• Exam: once every month (3 attempts)
• Key Colleges: VGU, LPU, IILM, Chandigarh University

TS ICET 2026

• Registration: February-March 2026
• Exam: May 2026
• Key Colleges: Telangana universities

AP ICET 2026

• Registration: March 2026
• Exam: May 2026
• Key Colleges: Andhra Pradesh universities

ATMA March 2026

• Registration: January-February 2026
• Exam: Early March 2026
• Key Colleges: Mid-tier B-schools nationwide

When Are MBA Entrance Exams Conducted?

MBA entrance exams do follow an annual predictable cycle. Exams such as CAT and XAT are typically conducted at the end of the year and exams such as CMAT, MAT, GMCAT, and GMAT are conducted throughout the year. This means that you do not need to prepare separately for each exam, if you plan well. Starting early means that you can comfortably cover the basics and then you can focus on mock tests and exam-specific strategies closer to the exam date.

How to Choose the Best MBA Entrance Exam for You?

Many students become confused as there are so many entrance exams for MBA. The specific exam you should take can depend on your career aspirations, your academic background, and the type of college you are looking to attend.

If you are targeted to crack top government or highly ranked institutes, competitive national-level exams should be a priority for you. If flexibility is important to you and if you want multiple attempts in a year, exams with frequent sessions can be a good option. It is more important to understand this alignment rather than blindly applying to every exam.

Preparation Strategy for Recent MBA Entrance Test

Preparing for the MBA entrance exams does not mean to study all day but it must be consistent. A proper concept understanding, regular practice and analysing mock tests are the three pillars of success.

Instead of trying to memorise shortcuts, try to strengthen your basics. Most exams are not meant to assess how much you remember but how you think. Regular reading, solving assorted questions, and time management practice will naturally increase your performance in different exams.

What Happens After the Entrance Exam?

Clearing an MBA entrance exam is only the first step. After the examination, the shortlisted candidates typically undergo group discussions, written ability tests and personal interviews. This is where your communication skills, clarity of goals and personality play a major role. That is why, it is better to work on your overall profile during your preparation for the upcoming MBA entrance exams as it is not only the score of your test.

If you are serious about doing an MBA, start keeping track of the upcoming MBA entrance exams now. Do not wait for last minute announcements. Early planning helps you to be confident, have more time to prepare, and have more options to choose from.

Remember, an MBA is not only a degree, it is an investment in your future. Choosing the right entrance exam and preparing with clarity can put you on a path to a successful career in management.

If you remain focused, consistent and informed, cracking an MBA Entrance Exam is definitely possible. So, start preparing and pave your way towards a future you envisioned. Feel free to connect with us at 8071296497 for free career consultation. 

Union Budget 2026 has made it very clear that no country can afford to ignore the education sector anymore. Increasing the education budget from 1.28 lakh crore to 1.39 lakh crore is more than just a change in figures; it symbolizes a new perspective that views education as the basis of a nation's strength. The immediate increase of nearly 11, 000 crore shows that the government is aware that if India wants to be at par with the world, it has to start with education.

The government is making a move beyond just the focus on rote learning, which is a good sign. School reforms, along with higher education, are being discussed as well, including digital classrooms, skill development, research, and National Education Policy implementation. The focus on skills, artificial intelligence, technology, and job- ready students indicate a deliberate effort to make education a means of employability. This is also a time driven shift as today's economy prioritizes skills more than just degrees.

However, when India’s education budget is viewed in a global context, the picture becomes more complex. The United States spends nearly $82.4 billion on education, or roughly 7.5 lakh crore, which is many times more than India's current expenditure. The US puts a lot of money into education, research, teacher training, and advanced technologies. This has led to it having some of the world's top universities such as MIT, Harvard, and Stanford. There is no doubt that increased investment brings higher quality.

China is another interesting case for comparison. For one thing, its education budget is said to be on a par with Indians. However, the main difference lies in the fact that China is focused more on skill and vocational education and is very systematic in how it spends its budget. The country has thus grown to be a global leader in manufacturing and technical skills. Russia also invests more in education per student than India as it has a smaller population. This has enabled it to continue excelling in the fields of science and technology.

India and Pakistan are the biggest contrast in South Asia if we compare them. Education is one of the areas where the difference is visible. India's education infrastructure is mostly funded by the government and the spending is over one lakh crore rupees, whereas Pakistan's education budget is just a few thousand crore rupees. Such a comparison certainly indicates that India is way ahead of its neighbors in the race of progress, but it is not enough simply being ahead.

The real question is how the increased budget will be utilised. If the additional funds are confined to infrastructure, announcements, and paperwork, the impact on the ground will remain limited. What is needed is tangible improvement in school quality, better teacher training, genuine support for research, and skill development that truly enhances students’ employability.

Budget 2026 has clearly sent a favourable signal to the education sector. The real test now is to make sure that these higher allocations are backed up by the right priorities and that the implementation is done efficiently. It will only be through this that education can really be the main pillar of a stronger nation instead of merely being a catchy part of budget speeches.

India’s economic story is often told through two extremes. At one end stand the large corporations, the unicorns, the glittering towers of finance and technology. At the other end exists a vast, restless universe of nano and micro businesses—tea sellers, women running papad units from their kitchens, handloom weavers, street repairers, waste pickers,

small farmers, village processors, home bakers, informal tutors. This is not a fringe economy. This is the real India. It is messy, human, informal, resilient—and chronically underestimated.

For decades, grassroots enterprises have been seen as survival mechanisms, not growth engines. Policy treated them as welfare cases, not as businesses with ambition. Banks saw them as risky. Markets saw them as unreliable. Yet quietly, across villages, bastis, and small towns, something has begun to change. A new generation of nano entrepreneurs is no longer satisfied with mere survival. They want dignity, scale, stability, and aspiration. They want their businesses to outlive them. This shift demands a new way of thinking. Not academic theory. Not

MBA jargon. But a grounded, practical framework that speaks the language of the street, the field, the workshop, and the kitchen. This is where the idea of the 12Ps of nano and micro business becomes powerful. It is not about marketing alone. It is about reimagining the

entire life cycle of grassroots enterprise—from the first spark of intent to long-term sustainability and even exit.

What follows is a story of how these 12Ps can help India rethink its grassroots economy, not as a burden to be managed, but as a force waiting to be unleashed, drawing conceptually from the framework detailed in the uploaded document

The First Shift: From Earning a Living to Building a Future (Plan)

Every nano business begins with a plan, even if it is unspoken. Traditionally, that plan has been painfully short-term. Earn today, eat today, survive this month. The kirana store owner worries about tomorrow’s cash flow, not next year’s expansion. The woman making pickles at home focuses on the next order, not on brand or scale.

The first and most radical change is mental. Planning at the grassroots must move from survival thinking to future thinking. This does not mean five-year projections or spreadsheets. It means clarity. Why am I doing this business? What problem am I solving? Who will still need this five

years from now? Consider a vegetable vendor who realises that her real asset is not vegetables but trust. Or a village carpenter who understands that his skill is not labour but design knowledge passed down generations. When the plan shifts from “how do I earn today?” to “how do I grow tomorrow?”, the entire business begins to change shape.

At the nano level, planning must be phased. First, stabilise income so the family does not consume business capital. Then consolidate one strong product or service. Only then think of expansion. This phased planning is what allows a small enterprise to breathe before it dreams.

Solving Real Problems, Not Chasing Fancy Ideas (Product) 

Grassroots India does not need clever products. It needs useful ones. The most successful nano businesses are born not from trends but from friction. They emerge where daily life is hard, inefficient, or unfair.

A woman in a village who makes compostable sanitary pads is not innovating for applause. She is solving a problem of health, dignity, cost, and waste. A farmer who builds a low-cost storage solution is not chasing technology. He is fighting distress sale. These products succeed because

they are rooted in lived reality. At the nano level, a product is rarely just an object. It is often a bundled solution. A spice mix is not only taste; it is trust, purity, memory, and convenience. A handwoven bag is not just fabric; it is labour, culture, and story. Crucially, grassroots products gain strength when they move from raw to refined. Selling turmeric roots keeps a farmer poor. Turning that turmeric into cleaned, processed, branded powder begins to create value. The leap from commodity to product is one of the most powerful transformations in the nano economy.

Geography Is No Longer a Prison (Place)

For generations, place limited possibility. If your business was in a village, your market was the village. If your town was remote, growth was impossible. Today, that wall is cracking. Physical presence still matters. Trust is built face to face. The local haat, the neighbourhood lane, the weekly market remain foundational. But now, digital bridges allow nano businesses to travel far without leaving home.

A home-based oil maker in Maharashtra can sell to a customer in Delhi. A bamboo artisan in the Northeast can find buyers in Bengaluru. Place has become layered—local for trust, digital for scale. This shift is not just about e-commerce. It is about confidence. When a small producer realises that geography no longer defines destiny, ambition awakens. The village is no longer the end of the road. It is the starting point.

Pricing with Self-Respect, Not Fear (Price)

One of the most damaging habits in the grassroots economy is under- pricing. Nano entrepreneurs often charge less than their worth out of fear—fear of losing customers, fear of seeming expensive, fear of rejection. But price is not just a number. It is a signal. It tells the market how you value yourself. The poorest businesses often pay the highest hidden costs. Long hours, unpaid family labour, health damage, environmental harm. When prices ignore these realities, the business bleeds invisibly.

Smart grassroots pricing begins with honesty. What does it truly cost to make this product or deliver this service with dignity? Then comes creativity. Smaller pack sizes, flexible units, subscription models, community pricing. This is how affordability and sustainability meet.

Over time, as trust grows, pricing power grows too. The journey from cheap to fair to premium is not arrogance. It is maturation. 

Owning a Clear Identity in a Crowded World (Positioning)

In a market flooded with sameness, clarity becomes power. Nano businesses cannot compete by copying big brands. They win by being unmistakably themselves. Positioning at the grassroots is often cultural. Local taste. Local language. Local memory. A beverage that tastes like childhood. A fabric that carries regional motifs. A food item that reminds migrants of home.

When a product knows who it is for and what it stands for, it stops shouting and starts attracting. Positioning is not about being everything to everyone. It is about being deeply meaningful to someone.

For grassroots enterprises, identity is often their greatest asset. It cannot be imported. It cannot be replicated easily. It must be honoured, not diluted. 

Reaching the Customer Without Losing Control (Placement)

Distribution has historically been where nano businesses lose power. Middlemen control access, squeeze margins, delay payments. The producer works hard while someone else controls the shelf. New models are changing this balance. Direct selling, digital networks, community aggregators, producer collectives. These do not eliminate

intermediaries but rebalance relationships. Smart placement is about choice. Selling some volume locally for cash flow. Some digitally for growth. Some in bulk for stability. A single channel is fragile. Multiple pathways create resilience. When a nano business controls even part of its placement, it regains dignity. It stops begging for market access and starts negotiating.

When the Wrapper Speaks Louder Than Words (Packaging)

Packaging was once an afterthought for grassroots businesses. Whatever was cheap. Whatever was available. But today, packaging tells a story before the product is even touched. Good packaging at the nano level does not mean expensive boxes. It means clean, safe, thoughtful, and honest. It means protecting the product. It means respecting the buyer.

Increasingly, packaging also reflects values. Eco-friendly materials. Minimal waste. Reusable containers. For many consumers, packaging is now a moral signal. A small label, a simple design, and a short story can transform perception. Packaging becomes the silent salesman, especially when the maker is not present.

Businesses Are Built by Humans, Not Models (People)

At the heart of every nano enterprise are people—families, neighbours, communities. The success of a grassroots business often depends less on strategy and more on relationships.

Leadership at this level is intimate. The entrepreneur is manager, worker, mentor, negotiator, and caregiver. Emotional intelligence matters as much as skill. As businesses grow, people systems must grow too. Training, trust, delegation. Moving from “I do everything” to “we build together” is a difficult but necessary shift.

The most transformative grassroots businesses are those where workers become stakeholders, where women gain voice, where confidence grows alongside income. People are not a cost. They are the core.

Sustainability as Survival, Not Luxury (Planet)

For nano businesses, sustainability is not a trend. It is instinct. When resources are scarce, waste is unaffordable. Many grassroots enterprises are naturally circular. Reusing materials.

Repairing instead of replacing. Extracting multiple uses from one resource. This is not ideology; it is wisdom.

As markets become more environmentally conscious, this traditional frugality becomes a competitive advantage. What was once seen as backward is now seen as responsible.

When nano businesses consciously align with the planet, they future- proof themselves. They reduce dependency on volatile inputs. They build moral credibility. They sleep better.

How You Work Matters as Much as What You Sell (Process)

The informal economy often runs on invisible processes—long hours, child labour, unsafe practices, delayed payments. These hidden costs keep businesses small and vulnerable.

As nano enterprises formalise, process becomes power. Clear workflows. Fair wages. Consistent quality. Transparent sourcing. These are not bureaucratic burdens; they are growth enablers. Good processes build trust—with customers, partners, lenders. They turn

a hustle into a system. They allow replication without collapse.

For grassroots businesses, improving process is often the bridge between being tolerated and being respected.

Infrastructure That Protects Value (Physicality)

A farmer without storage loses value overnight. A baker without refrigeration wastes effort. A craftsperson without safe transport risks breakage. Physical infrastructure—however small—multiplies income. A cold box. A shared workspace. A drying unit. A transport crate. These humble assets protect months of labour. When physical constraints ease, confidence rises. The entrepreneur can wait, negotiate, plan. Physicality gives bargaining power. Investing in the right physical assets at the right time often marks the turning point from struggle to stability.

Telling Your Story in the Digital Gali (Promotion)

Grassroots promotion no longer needs hoardings or television. It happens in chats, videos, voice notes, reels. It is conversational, not corporate. When a maker speaks directly to a buyer—showing how something is made, why it matters—trust forms quickly. This human promotion is difficult for large brands to fake. Language matters. Local stories matter. Familiar faces matter. Promotion at the nano level works best when it feels like a recommendation, not an advertisement. In the digital gali, authenticity travels faster than polish.

From Livelihood to Legacy: Progress

The final and most important factor is progress. Not just income growth,

but confidence growth. Agency growth. The belief that tomorrow can be

better than today. When nano businesses think in terms of progress, new possibilities open.

Expansion. Collaboration. Succession. Even exit.

A business that can be sold, inherited, franchised, or partnered has

crossed a historic threshold. It has moved from hand-to-mouth existence

to asset creation. This is the quiet revolution unfolding across India’s grassroots economy.

A New Imagination for India’s Smallest Businesses

The 12Ps are not a formula. They are a lens. A way to see nano and micro enterprises not as problems to be fixed but as systems to be strengthened. When planning replaces panic, when products solve real pain, when pricing carries self-respect, when people grow alongside profit, the grassroots economy transforms.

India does not need to wait for the next big startup to create jobs. Millions of nano businesses are already here. With the right thinking, they can become engines of dignity, resilience, and inclusive growth. The future of India’s economy will not be built only in boardrooms. It is

being shaped right now—in kitchens, lanes, fields, workshops—by entrepreneurs who are small in size, but vast in potential.

I had an opportunity to interact with Sir Mark Tully, and each conversation reinforced why he remained one of the most morally anchored voices in journalism. During one such interaction in Goa in 2019, Tully spoke candidly about India’s declining position on the global press freedom index and what he saw as the troubling silence of the Prime Minister when atrocities are committed in the country. 

He argued that when such incidents occur, the Prime Minister must speak out decisively, adding that silence distorts political debate and shifts public attention from governance failures to manufactured sensations. Tully was particularly critical of the lack of serious discussion on administrative reforms, noting that there is little public accountability for how government programmes are implemented on the ground. He stressed that governments must be prepared to face journalistic scrutiny, describing criticism by the press as invaluable to democracy, and warned that attempts to control the media are dangerous, calling the steady decline in India’s press freedom ranking deeply alarming.

Reflecting on governance, Tully observed that despite visible policy initiatives, administrative functioning remains pervaded by a lingering colonial mindset. He cited examples from rural India, where welfare schemes are often misdirected, such as Below Poverty Line cards being issued to those who least need them, while genuine beneficiaries are ignored, and complaints to block-level officials are routinely dismissed or met with hostility. For Tully, rural India remained central to understanding the country’s real governance challenges, as corruption, nepotism, and systemic failures are most visible at the grassroots. He repeatedly emphasised that journalism must venture beyond urban narratives to document these realities.

Recounting the personal risks he faced as a reporter, Tully shared an incident from his early career while covering riots in Faisalabad, where he returned to a burning site to file his story, was briefly detained, and overheard Indian journalists discussing his situation before they helped secure his release, allowing him to complete the report. The episode, like much of his career, underscored his belief that truthful reporting often demands courage, persistence, and an unwavering commitment to bearing witness.

Early Life

Mark Tully, the legendary BBC journalist often described as the “voice of India”, has passed away, leaving behind a body of work that shaped how the world listened to, argued with, and understood India for more than four decades. For generations of listeners, his measured baritone on the BBC World Service was not merely reporting India—it was interpreting its contradictions with empathy, scepticism, and rare moral clarity.

Born in Kolkata in 1935, the same year the Government of India Act set in motion the final phase of British withdrawal, Tully’s life mirrored the arc of the country he would one day chronicle. Son of a senior colonial-era business executive, he grew up insulated by the privileges and prejudices of the fading Raj. A childhood incident—being slapped by his nanny for learning to count in Hindi—became emblematic of the distance colonial society enforced between itself and India. Tully later referred to himself, half-ironically, as a “relic of the Raj,” fully aware of the contradiction he embodied.

Yet history has a way of reclaiming its own. When Tully returned to India in the early 1960s as Assistant Representative at the BBC’s New Delhi bureau, he encountered a nation that no longer belonged to the empire but to uncertainty, ambition, and democratic churn. Carving a space for the BBC in an airwave landscape dominated by Akashvani and Radio Ceylon was no small task. What distinguished Tully was not speed or sensationalism, but patience—listening longer, asking harder questions, and refusing to simplify India for foreign consumption.

Under his stewardship, the BBC reported on India’s most defining moments: the 1965 and 1971 wars, the birth of Bangladesh, the Emergency of 1975, Punjab’s insurgency, and Operation Blue Star. His journalism was not detached; it was deeply contextual, often uncomfortable, and fiercely independent. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, when most agencies fled, Tully and colleague Satish Jacob reconstructed the conflict from Delhi airport interviews—an exercise in journalistic ingenuity that later revealed the shadowy movements of Murtaza Bhutto.

Legends followed him. During the Emergency, an alleged broadcast nearly landed him in jail on Indira Gandhi’s orders—until I K Gujral discovered the report was fiction. For 22 years as BBC’s India Bureau Chief, Tully became an institution unto himself. After radio, he turned to documentaries and books, most notably India’s Unending Journey, continuing his lifelong interrogation of power, faith, and democracy.

Knighted in 2002 and awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2005, Sir Mark Tully remained a familiar presence at the Press Club of India—curious, accessible, and always listening. He arrived as an outsider. He stayed long enough to become indispensable. And in doing so, Mark Tully did what few correspondents ever manage: he stopped reporting India from a distance and began speaking with it.

India’s higher education has carried a quiet contradiction for decades.We promised mass access and global competitiveness in the same breath, but we continued to run universities on a timetable-and-classroom logic designed for a smaller, more uniform learner population.

The UGC (Minimum Standards of Instruction for the Grant of Undergraduate Degree and Postgraduate Degree) Regulations, 2025 effectively updates that operating system—without shouting—by shifting the sector from rigid, single-track journeys to stackable, flexible,credit-based learning lives.Placed alongside the National Credit Framework ecosystem and theemerging practice of blended learning and multi-assessment, the 2025 direction is not incremental reform. It is a new design philosophy: higher education as a portfolio of capabilities, not a single linear credential. The young learner today does not want only “a degree”; they want a credible pathway to a job, a career pivot, an enterprise, a second skill stack,and—most importantly—a sense that learning can keep pace with life.What follows is a pro-student, pro-placements, pro-entrepreneurship reading of the five major “game changers” now made possible at scale: two admissions a year; open choice of discipline; dual degrees including online pathways; up to 50% credits as skills/vocation/apprenticeship; and a decisive movement toward continuous, authentic assessment beyond written exams. These are not five separate reforms. They are five parts of one larger shift: the university becoming a platform where learning, work, and capability development meet.

The Second Intake Revolution: Ending the “Lost Year” Penalty Two admissions a year—July/August and January/February—may look like a calendar adjustment, but it is, in reality, an equity reform. India has a large pool of “near entrants”: students who are qualified and motivated, yet miss admission windows because of a medical crisis at home, a financial disruption, a delayed result, a migration, or a caregiving obligation. In the old system, missing one deadline often meant losing one full year, and the “lost year” frequently became a lost Learner.Biannual admissions convert that leakage into enrolment. They also change the psychology of aspiration. A student who misses an intake no longer feels “I failed” but “I will enter in the next cycle.” In several contexts, universities have already begun aligning processes with this logic; Gujarat University’s reported second-phase admissions and the idea of direct entry into the second semester signal how institutions can operationalise the principle.The deeper opportunity is even more consequential. Two intakes normalize work-integrated entry. A learner can spend six months in an apprenticeship, a skilling term, or a structured internship, and still enter the degree pathway in January without losing academic rhythm. When the university begins to recognise that learning happens in seasons—sometimes in classrooms, sometimes in workplaces—it becomes far more attractive to first-generation learners and working learners who cannot afford “education without earnings.”Discipline Is No Longer Destiny: Freedom to Choose, with Bridge-to-Choice UGC 2025 takes a bold position that Indian education has needed for a long time: the subjects you studied in Class 12 should not imprison your future. If a learner clears the relevant entrance examination, they can enter an undergraduate discipline irrespective of their school subject combination, with the institution empowered to provide bridge courses to address gaps. The same spirit extends to postgraduate entry as well: learners can move across domains, provided they meet entrance requirements and complete any necessary foundational support.This is pro-student, but it is also pro-economy. The job market is reorganising around skill clusters, not traditional departments. It is increasingly normal for careers to sit at intersections: data plus domain knowledge; design plus business; psychology plus HR analytics; law plus technology; sustainability plus finance; communication plus digital strategy. In such a world, forcing learners to stay “within lane” is not academic purity; it is employability sabotage.
There is also a deeply Indian reason this matters. Many learners discover their real interests late, often after exposure to the world of work or after encountering the right mentor. A student who chose science in school under family pressure may genuinely belong to media and communication; a commerce student may find their calling in product design or public policy. The new flexibility makes the university a place where such discovery is possible without social penalty.The institution-level implementation cue is clear: build a flexible major–minor architecture and a meaningful common core. A learner should be able to hold a primary identity—say, engineering or commerce—while building a formal secondary identity through a minor,a certificate, or a cross-faculty sequence. A common core that includes design thinking, financial literacy, and AI ethics is no longer “nice to have”; it is baseline competence for citizenship and work.The bridge-course mindset will decide whether this reform becomes liberating or merely procedural. If bridge courses become remedial and stigmatizing, the reform will underperform. If bridge courses are designed as launchpads—short, studio-like foundational modules that build confidence through applied learning—discipline mobility will become a genuine democratizer.

Dual Degrees: The Portfolio Learner Becomes Legitimate UGC 2025 formally recognises the possibility of pursuing two UG programmes simultaneously and two PG programmes simultaneously,within the flexibility frameworks notified by the Commission. This sits comfortably with the earlier logic that allowed two programmes across modes—one physical and one ODL/online, or even two ODL/online—subject to recognition, overlap rules, and compliance.At its best, dual-degree design solves a real market problem. Graduates frequently emerge with either domain knowledge without contemporary skills, or skills without domain anchoring. Dual learning allows breadth without abandoning depth. It also legitimises the “hybrid professional,” increasingly the most employable person in the room: the BA/BCom learner with data foundations; the BSc learner with UI/UX and product thinking; the engineer with entrepreneurship and management; the humanities learner with digital media and analytics.

Consider a realistic student in Kolkata or Raipur: enrolled in a conventional undergraduate programme, but also pursuing an online pathway in data analysis, digital marketing, or product design from a recognised provider. In three years, that learner’s transcript becomes a portfolio: one part disciplinary training, one part employability stack,and one part demonstrated work. The university stops producing “graduates,” and starts producing “profiles.” The foreign online degree possibility adds a further layer of opportunity: global exposure, benchmarking, and network effects. But it must be handled with adult caution. Recognition and regulatory alignment matter, and learners must be protected from non-recognised or non-transferable traps. The safest, most student-friendly pathway is not to discourage international online learning, but to build advising and due diligence so students choose credible, recognised options and understand how these credentials will be valued by employers and Institutions.

In other words, dual degrees can democratise global learning, but only if the university becomes a guide, not a bystander.

When 50% Credits Can Be Skills: The Degree Learns to Work One of the most transformative possibilities in UGC 2025 is the explicit permission to structure learning such that while a learner secures a minimum 50% of total credits in the discipline to earn a major, the remaining 50% may come from skill courses, apprenticeships, and multidisciplinary subjects. The regulations also emphasise integrating vocational education, training and skilling, and internships within UG/PG structures. This is not cosmetic. It dismantles an old hierarchy where skills were treated as “extra,” and signals a new reality: a degree is not only knowledge; it is capability. Once skills and work-based learning carry real credit weight, higher education becomes attractive to those who were previously ambivalent about universities—working learners who need flexibility, first-generation learners who demand employability value, and families who cannot afford years of education without visible Outcomes. This is precisely where the National Credit Framework logic becomes operational. If up to half the learning can be creditised across academic,vocational, skills, and experiential domains—recorded through appropriate credit banks and mapped to outcomes—then education and training stop competing. They begin to blend. The employability engine is simple but often missed: skills must be embedded inside the curriculum, not treated as a weekend add-on. When skills training, interdisciplinarity, organic learning, and multi-assessment work together, graduates become demonstrable problem-solvers rather than transcript-holders. A student who has completed a credit-bearing apprenticeship in a local industry cluster, a stackable micro-credential aligned to hiring needs, and a capstone that solves a real problem is not merely “qualified.” They are employable with evidence.

This shift also energises entrepreneurship. A skill minor in product Management or digital commerce can feed directly into venture building.

A vocational-credit sequence in sustainability auditing can become a service enterprise. A design-and-business blend can produce founders

who understand both creation and markets. When credits legitimise skill-building, the university begins to generate not only job seekers but

job creators.

Exams Make Way for Evidence: Continuous, Authentic, and Not Only Written

UGC 2025 decisively broadens evaluation beyond written examinations.It expands the units of evaluation to include seminars, presentations,class performance, fieldwork, and similar demonstrations, with weightage determined transparently by academic bodies. It mandates continuous evaluation alongside semester or year-end examinations and asks institutions to prioritise formative assessment.

The most important implication is cultural: assessment begins to shift from testing memory to validating capability. Many people fear that continuous and non-written assessment “lowers standards.” In reality, it often raises standards because it makes learning harder to fake. A written exam can be gamed; a portfolio of work, a live project, a lab demonstration, a reflective log of problem-solving, and a capstone cannot be replicated without real engagement. Multi-assessment, as an institutional practice, reduces the high-stakes pressure of single-shot exams and makes evaluation more inclusive for diverse learners. It also creates richer employability signals. Employers do not hire marks; they hire evidence of capability. When assessment includes performance-based tasks, inquiry-driven assignments,collaborative work, and reflective documentation, the transcript becomes a story of what the learner can actually do. Indian universities already offer hints of how this can work. Delhi University’s UGCF entrepreneurship track, for instance, speaks the language of venture building—idea validation, market research, prototype or MVP development—essentially treating entrepreneurship as assessable learning rather than as extracurricular theatre. That is exactly the shift India needs: assessment as proof of creation, not proof of recall.

A well-designed system will make e-portfolios and capstones mainstream. The e-portfolio becomes the learner’s public ledger: curated projects, fieldwork, presentations, prototypes, writing samples, and reflections. It is simultaneously an assessment tool and a placement asset. Done properly, it becomes the learner’s most powerful negotiation instrument in the job market.

The Missing Link: Blended Learning and a Project Ecology that Protects Equity

None of these reforms scale unless universities can deliver learning through a blended, flexible architecture. Blended learning is not a superficial “tech addition.” It is the cohesive integration of face-to-face and online modes through curriculum redesign—moving passive content delivery into flexible spaces and using in-person time for active,participative learning.

But India’s equity constraint is real. The digital divide is not a slogan; it is a structural barrier. If blended learning is designed around data-heavy, synchronous video models suited to high-resource environments,it will exclude precisely those learners higher education must include.This is why an “asynchronous-first” design philosophy matters. When content is accessible on low bandwidth, mobile-first platforms; when learning resources can be downloaded and revisited; when engagement is designed through thoughtful discussion prompts and periodic high-impact in-person sessions—then blended learning becomes a tool of inclusion rather than exclusion.

A strong blended model also builds a project ecology. It frees campus time for studios, collaboration, fieldwork, and project-based learning. It encourages interdisciplinarity because real projects rarely respect departmental boundaries. It makes room for apprenticeships and internships because learning can be planned around work cycles. In short, blended learning is not merely a delivery mode; it is the infrastructure of flexibility.

The New Campus Engine: When Placements and Entrepreneurship Share One Wheel

UGC 2025 gives the policy space, but universities must build the institutional machinery. A key shift is to stop treating placement as a seasonal activity and begin treating it as a year-round academic engine. That means building a robust Collaboration and Placement Centre with a dual mandate: placements and entrepreneurship. In a developing economy, employability and enterprise creation are not separate missions; they are two sides of the same economic development coin. This is where industry engagement becomes more than MoUs and guest lectures. Partnerships must mature into structured pipelines: internship quotas, live projects, co-developed modules, mentorship, and recruitment alignment. When industry advisory boards inform curricula, when projects are sourced from real industry pain points, and when evaluation is built around authentic outcomes, placements stop being a last-semester scramble. They become the natural consequence of the learning model. India has already seen how institutional ecosystems can shape entrepreneurial outcomes. Incubation and innovation models associated with leading institutions—such as structured entrepreneurship and incubation ecosystems—show that when mentorship, networks, and real problem solving are institutionalised, venture creation rises. UGC 2025, through credit flexibility and authentic assessment, makes it possible to embed those ecosystems into mainstream degrees, not only into elite Islands. A More Humane, More Useful University UGC 2025 should be understood as a shift from degree delivery to capability development—multiple entry points, multiple pacing options, and multiple ways to prove competence. It is pro-student because it respects life realities. It is pro-placements because it legitimises skills, portfolios, apprenticeships, and industry-facing outcomes. It is pro- entrepreneurship because it makes projects and venture-building assessable within formal education.

The true “game changer” is not any single clause. It is the combined effect: a university that can admit more learners, let them build hybrid identities, let them earn skill credits meaningfully, and let them prove learning through authentic work. Done well, this is how India increases participation, reduces dropouts, improves graduate outcomes, and creates a generation that is not only educated, but employable, entrepreneurial, and future-ready.

An astounding feature of India's higher education is that it ranks among the biggest in the world, with a plethora of colleges, a few hundred universities, and an annual output of millions of graduates. Nevertheless, such a vast setup is confronted with a critical issue: why is it that not even one Indian university, despite its magnitude, finds a regular place among the worlds top, ranked institutions?

That question is, in fact, more poignant if we actually recall that this same land was a world centre of learning some two millennia ago. Universities like Nalanda and Takshashila were not only India’s pride but part of the world’s shared intellectual heritage. Today, it seems the roles have been reversed since Indian students have been going abroad for studies in increasing numbers, Indian universities have been continuously falling behind in global rankings.

At the heart of the problem, there is a university system in India that is not strong in research culture, that is not well funded, that lacks academic freedom and that is not globally oriented. It is quite true that India is a major contributor to the world's research papers, but their citation impact of these papers is much lower than that of leading countries. The main reasons are: very limited spreading of funds, no high tech facilities, very few opportunities, and overburdening of the teaching faculty. If researchers are not given sufficient time and resources, production of high, quality work is very unlikely.

Institutions such as the IITs churn out brilliant engineers, but if they fail to massively integrate disciplines like medicine, law, social sciences, and public policy, they won't be able to meet the global standards. At the same time, the top universities in the world are dependent on interdisciplinary ecosystems that incubate creativity and innovation. India's system, however, remains confined to silos.

Governance and autonomy issues are also major impediments. A large number of Indian universities are so deeply caught up in bureaucratic controls and policy limitations that they almost cannot make quick, autonomous decisions. Meanwhile, leading global universities attract top talent because of their flexibility and freedom.

Equally concerning is the near absence of foreign faculty on Indian campuses. Visa rules, salary caps, and the red tape of the bureaucracy are some of the things that prevent talented people from all over the world from coming to India. Consequently, Indian higher education institutions do not have the international mix that is one of the factors directly affecting the global rankings of universities.

Yet, there is still some small hope at the end of the tunnel. The rise of a handful of private universities, such as Ashoka, O.P. Jindal, and Amrita, show that Indian universities can really compete at the global level if they are given proper autonomy and the right facilities. A major aspect of their fast progression has been their freedom to form partnerships abroad.

In essence, the main question should not be why India is losing ground but what great leap it can take by 2047. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has set broad directions by focusing on multidisciplinary education, research, and granting more autonomy to institutions. However, policies by themselves do not suffice. India should take bold steps in making research a high priority, training professors, forming partnerships abroad, and structurally upgrading its universities.

If India successfully tackles the above challenge, then it will not only be an economic giant but also a world intellectual leader by 2047. On the other hand, if the slow pace continues, the rest of the world will advance, and India will keep questioning: why are our universities not among the best?st global academic legacy.

The long-running debate over India’s entrance examination system appears to be reaching a decisive turning point. The central government’s proposed SAT-based admission model is not just a move towards phasing out major national-level exams like NEET, JEE, and CUET—it is an attempt to reshape the entire education ecosystem under a new framework. If implemented, this could be considered the biggest reform in Indian higher education in decades.

The goal of this new system is pretty straightforward: to lessen student stress, limit the coaching culture dependency, and bring school education back to the main focus. This method is in line with the essence of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which has always highlighted school- based assessment and conceptual learning.

Will This Model Alleviate Student Burden?

Scheduling the SAT twice in the Class 11 proposal seems like a fair compromise. Besides one more chance to better their scores, students, when their Class 12 board results are combined, could see the admission process gradually becoming more integrated, transparent, and school centric.

In the past, the whole pressure of competitive examinations has been on after Class 12. By distributing this burden over two years, the new system could significantly reduce mental stress among students.

Can the Coaching Culture Really Be Curbed?

India's coaching industry has practically evolved into an education system parallel to the formal one. Kota and Hyderabad, Delhi, and Patna are cities that draw hundreds of thousands of students every year.

Higher stress, financial issues, and the steady stream of news about student suicides have regularly exposed the flaws of this system

Measures in the new framework like cutting down coaching hours, not allowing students under 16 years to attend, and school related exams can reduce the influence of coaching centres. Such a change would be welcomed by society and parents alike.

A Transformative Step for Rural and Marginalised Students

The biggest challenge in Indian education has always been equal opportunity. When coaching is expensive and access to big cities is limited, rural and economically weaker students are naturally left behind.

The new system could significantly narrow this gap. NCERT-based assessments, in-school preparation, and fair percentile-based allocation could make the admission process more inclusive.

Is Uniformity Across State Boards Possible?

This is perhaps the most critical challenge. India's state boards vary greatly in their syllabi, assessment patterns, and difficulty standards. In case the SAT syllabus is based on NCERT, state boards will need to overhaul their curricula to keep the students at the same level.

The change will be possible only if the states are empowered with a major role and given sufficient time to execute the plan.

What Do Experts Say?Many experts are of the opinion that this model can lighten the students' stress load, however, they also regard syllabus alignment as the biggest problem. They see it as a great chance for students from rural areas and tell teachers to start preparing for the change now.

Some educators feel the system could help end rote learning, but they also stress the importance of uniformity across state boards. In their view, this reform could improve mental health, offer financial relief, and enhance teaching quality.However, they also suggest pilot projects first to full, scale implementation.

Educators' optimistic responses notwithstanding, they also show that they are cautious about the challenges of execution.

The Bigger Picture

The main purpose of the new admission system is fundamentally good and it can bring about a number of benefits, such as student stress reduction, school education getting its due, and decreasing reliance on coaching institutes.

However, this change is far more than simply a matter of an examination, it demands a fundamental re-thinking of the way students are taught, how the teachers will be prepared, and the whole administrative machinery of education. The model will only be viable and sustainable if the government opts for the phased implementation, first through pilot projects, and later in partnership with the states.

The choice of 2027 as the deadline is certainly a bold move, however, it could very well be the beginning of a new era for the Indian education system.