On World Cancer Day, IIT Madras launched an unprecedented cancer genome database that encapsulates paediatric leukaemia, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, the diseases that have a heavy mortality burden in the country.

This effort was a response to India's chronic omission from international cancer genome research and it also hopes to facilitate better diagnosis and treatment outcomes by leveraging population, specific genomic data.

The public database (bcga.iitm.ac.in) developed under the Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas (BCGA) and clinician, oriented Bharat Cancer Genome Grid (BCG2) offers anonymous whole genome sequencing data of Indian cancer patients thus granting researchers and clinicians in India and worldwide an opportunity to investigate the genetic mutations of the Indian populace.

Currently, the database contains genomic information for nearly 1, 500 cancer samples that were sequenced and the whole genome sequencing took place at IIT Madras.

Approximately 30% of the samples came from hospitals in Tamil Nadu, whereas the rest of the samples were obtained from medical institutions located in different regions of the country, including the North, East, such as Mizoram, thus capturing the genetic diversity of India.

Indian Council of Medical Research has recently reported that one out of nine people in India will develop cancer over their lifetime, and the cancer incidence rate has been increasing at a rate of almost 13 per cent annually since 2022.

In spite of this increasing problem, India does not have genomic datasets that comprehensively represent the country's genetic diversity, thus, at times, Indian doctors have to depend on treatment protocols based on data from Western populations.

Project coordinator S Mahalingam, Head of the Centre of Excellence on Cancer Genomics and Molecular Therapeutics at IIT Madras, told TNIE that with the help of the database it would be possible to identify actionable mutations which in turn will guide targeted therapies.

Identifying the mutated gene in a patient helps us to not only prevent unnecessary chemotherapy and its side effects but also to use different drugs, which are already available, if they match the gene, he said. Besides, 57% of Indian cancer patients have clinically significant mutations that are still being analysed for their treatment potential.

Depending on sequencing depth, the cost of whole genome sequencing of one patient is currently between Rs 60, 000 and Rs 1 lakh.

Mahalingam said, initially, the expense of high, throughput sequencing and panel, based tests will be high, but gradually, as more Indian, specific recurrent mutations are identified, the costs will come down.

The project team already has nearly 8, 000 patient samples, and they are planning to keep increasing the database.

Director of IIT Madras, V Kamakoti, remarked that Indian cancer patients are genetically unique in many ways and, therefore, they possibly have higher mortality rates for some cancers such as breast cancer.

"Western therapies may not always be efficacious for Indian patients since the drugs are targeted to Western genomic data only. This atlas helps to fill a major gap and will facilitate better diagnosis, treatment, and drug development, " he remarked.

Dr SG Ramanan, a senior medical oncologist at Apollo Hospitals, emphasized the importance of training doctors to utilize complex genomic data.

Isnt it obvious that education is the key? Molecular tumour boards, where experts determine which mutations are drivers and which are passengers, will undoubtedly play a critical role in seeking to agree upon clinical decisions, he added.

It got support of Rs 56 crore as principal CSR from Hyundai Motor India under its Hyundai Hope for Cancer program and an additional Rs 3 crore to be used for treatment of the children from the economically weaker sections.

Officials of IIT Madras hailed the programme as a landmark for personalized, cost effective cancer care in India.

The Delhi High Court, through a judgment on Wednesday, has put an end to the overall ban on the migration of MBBS students under the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023. The court expressed that a total prohibition is a clearly arbitrary act and a violation of fundamental constitutional protections.

Besides, the Court directed the authorities to consider the case of a visually impaired medical student who is willing to relocate from a Rajasthan medical college to Delhi primarily on account of health and disability, related reasons.

A Division Bench consisting of the Chief Justice and Justice Tejas Karia, observed that Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 which enforced a total ban on the migration of undergraduate medical students, isn't a provision that is legally justified.

The Court remarked that a blanket ban on a prohibition would constitute a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India even in the cases of exceptional or deserving persons and, therefore, such a ban would violate the rights of persons with disabilities.

In addition, the Bench instructed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to review petitioner's migration application without taking into account the bans on migration and to look at his case in terms of disability rights and the necessity for reasonable accommodation. Petitioner, Sahil Arsh, is a visually impaired person to the extent of 40 per cent. He qualified for the NEET, UG 2023 from the Other Backwards Class, Persons with Disabilities category. Although initially, he was not allowed to participate in the counseling under the PwD category which led him to take the matter to the Supreme Court and later the court ordered the authorities to treat him as a PwD candidate. As a result of the delay in his approval for the counseling session, only the stray vacancy round was left for Sahil and hence he had very fewer options. Eventually, he got admission at Government Medical College, Barmer, Rajasthan. Later, the petitioner requested for a migration to Delhi on the ground that his eye condition worsened due to the harsh climate of Barmer and also because he needed treatment at AIIMS Delhi.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) rejected his plea in December 2024 on the ground that the 2023 Regulations had done away with the migration provision completely.

The High Court observed that while it is certainly a correct aim to keep uniform standards in medical education a completely banning migration ignores the true, real, life situations and, therefore, most unfairly deprives the deserving students.

The Court explicitly stated that the possibility of misuse ought not to be a ground for the denial of lawful rights, particularly when it is feasible to carry out reasonable safeguards.

Besides, the Bench observed that the petitioner was largely at the mercy of the situation due to the counselling authorities' not recognising his PwD status timely which thus denying him the chance of picking the right med college earlier. So, blaming him for choosing a far, off college in such a scenario was unreasonable.

Underlining the fact that the authorities are mandated to take reasonable measures, provide accommodations and ensure equality and non, discrimination, the Court, citing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, reiterated the same. It decided that excluding a student from admission whose medical condition had deteriorated as a result of exposure to the environment is a denial of such accommodation.

The Court further underscored that regulatory measures may not disregard human dignity or constitutional protections in pursuit of administrative efficiency. 

In the silence of the villages of Bundelkhand, Vidarbha, or the Thar, one can very well notice a paradox.

A farmer holding two bullocks and walking through the paddy field probably also takes a look on his mobile phone to check the rainfall updates. His son, who is sending a WhatsApp message on soil testing, is an agricultural graduate. Yet, the next morning, the same farmer uses the same wooden plough.

This is the story of most of India’s 86 per cent small and marginal farmers.

They own too little land to risk experiments. They earn too little to afford new tools. And they trust only what their ancestors proved with sweat and seasons.

India has 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 60 agricultural universities, and hundreds of technology missions, but much of this modern knowledge stays trapped in reports and conference halls.

The challenge is clear: How do we take modern agriculture to the very people who till the soil?

Why Modern Agriculture Education Is India’s Next Green Revolution

Modern agriculture is not just about machines or drones, but also about knowledge and precision.

In fact, it means educating farmers to be able to test the soil for nutrients, crop rotation for carbon retention, measuring the efficiency of irrigation, and using mobile data to forecast pest attacks.

The productivity of farms would not be affected if this knowledge were spread; the yield gap would become less than 20, 30% below world standards and farm incomes would not be stagnant.

More than that, it's about the dignity of the farmers. Education changes farmers from just being workers of the land to becoming managers of ecosystems, people who for the most part make informed decisions rather than waiting for the monsoon and market.

The Five-Layer Pathway: From Classroom to Cropland

Turning KVKs into Village Agri Schools

Imagine if every district had a local agricultural school—not a classroom, but a farm where farmers learn by doing.

That is what Krishi Vigyan Kendras can become.

Each KVK could conduct 10–15-day training modules in local languages, covering topics such as organic composting and drone-assisted spraying.

Farmers could earn joint certificates from the KVK, agricultural university, and the Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI)—giving them not just knowledge, but also recognition.

Learning That Travels: Mobile Agri-Education Vans

If farmers can’t come to universities, the universities must travel to them.

A single Agri-Education Van equipped with tablets, soil sensors, and drones could visit 10 villages every month, conducting field demonstrations.

It would bridge the knowledge gap in areas with poor rural infrastructure and bring curiosity back to the villages. The government’s Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and CSR-funded agri-tech startups could jointly finance such vans.

Digital Micro-Learning: A Classroom in Every Pocket

India’s rural internet story is fast changing—two out of three households now have a smartphone.

Short, two-minute lessons in Hindi, Marathi, or Odia can reach even semi-literate farmers through Kisan Sarathi and the upcoming AgriStack platform.

Imagine a farmer scanning a QR code printed on a fertiliser packet to watch a video showing the right mixing ratio for his soil type. Learning becomes instant, visual, and local.

Lead Farmers: Teachers of the Soil

One farmer learning alone is an experiment. Learning together is a revolution.

That’s the spirit behind Krishi Mitras—lead farmers trained to guide their peers.

Each Krishi Mitra would mentor 50–100 farmers, conducting on-field experiments and sharing real results. When a trusted neighbour demonstrates that bio-fertilisers work, change spreads faster than any government campaign.

The Energy of Youth: Rural Agri Fellowships

India produces over 40,000 agriculture graduates every year, yet few work in villages.

By offering six-month Agri Fellowships under NAHEP, these graduates can return to their roots—training farmers, collecting data, and piloting innovations.

This not only gives young professionals field exposure but also brings science and trust together in a single human connection.

Policy Integration Blueprint

• Create a Farmer Education vertical under the Digital Agriculture Mission 2021–26.
• Mandate Extension Pedagogy as a core subject in all B.Sc (Ag) courses.
• Recognise FPOs as certified rural training hubs.
• Introduce a Rural AgriTech Apprenticeship pairing young graduates with veteran farmers.
• Link RKVY and NAHEP funding to measurable education outcomes.

When Knowledge Becomes the New Fertiliser

Bringing Modern Agriculture Education to India’s small farmers isn’t about replacing tradition—it’s about refining it.

When a farmer uses drones alongside bullocks, when soil testing follows rituals, when QR codes guide composting, tradition and technology finally shake hands.

The new revolution will not rise from factories or policies alone, but from a classroom built on every field. Modern agriculture, in India, will be won not by machines—but by minds that are willing to learn.

The Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Bombay, has revealed the commencement of its two, month paid summer project programme on, campus. This project is mainly aimed at Climate and Sustainability and invites enrolments from undergraduate students who are eligible.

The initiative, dubbed 'Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in Sustainability' (SPURS), is available only to second, and third, year undergraduate students of IIT Bombay. The programme, which is meant to promote research, based learning in sustainability and climate change studies, gives students an opportunity to work directly with research across disciplines along with a faculty mentor.

SPURS was a launch of 2024 and the initial funding was given by Dr Vinaya Kapoor and Dr Samir Kapoor, who are distinguished alumni of IIT Bombay B.Tech (1992). Thus, Kapoors are a reflection of the growing alumni engagement in research, development, and education at the institute, led by the institute.

IIT Bombay has announced that the programme will run from 15 May to 15 July, 2026. During this time, the students selected will be working on research projects related to sustainability of the campus. Also, the stipend will be provided to the participants of the programme to support students financially without any worries of funding their research.

One of the key highlights of SPURS is the opportunity it offers to outstanding performers. Each year, one student who is considered to be the best by the SPURS Committee, among other students, will have the opportunity of presenting their research at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting, which is a conference in the field of science of global recognition and is held every December.

The institute unveiled the programme via its official social media platforms. Through a post on X (formerly Twitter), IIT Bombay declared: "We are back with the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in Sustainability (SPURS)a two, month paid on, campus summer project programme in the field of Climate and Sustainability for our undergraduate students (2nd and 3rd year)."

Important Dates

Application deadline: February 16, 2026

Interview date: March 15, 2026

Result announcement: March 20, 2026

Programme duration: May 15 to July 15, 2026

The registration link has been shared on the official social media accounts of IIT Bombay and students are recommended to frequently check the IIT Bombay website for the detailed eligibility, application instructions, and programme updates.

With sustainability and climate research being raised as the main focus in the world, SPURS is a perfect platform for IIT Bombay undergraduates to dive into research that is not only of global importance but also academically/professionally very satisfying. Thus, it will provide them with an advantage at the beginning of their careers.

As universities all over the world incorporate more and more sustainability studies to prepare for climate change, energy transitions, and social development, one crucial aspect keeps being overlooked: mental health. Students are quite thoroughly trained in how to solve environmental problems through science, policy, and innovation, however, very little attention is given to their emotional exhaustion when they work in fields which are characterized by urgency, uncertainty, and slow progress.

On top of being the challenge to the environment, climate change is also a challenge to the human psyche. When natural habitats change, people's behaviour, their level of stress and emotional health also change. Terms like eco, anxiety, climate grief, and activist burnout have become widely used, especially among young people. Though, in the majority of sustainability programmes, students hardly ever get prepared to face such issues.

Most of the time, sustainability jobs are portrayed as ones that are full of purpose and compelling and rightly so, they are. However, these jobs are also emotionally draining. Personnel are constantly facing situations such as political stalemates, insufficient financing, natural disasters happening over and over, and community suffering. Many young professionals, especially those from Generation Z entering the field, find themselves in a situation where the above- mentioned circumstances result in stress overload, emotional exhaustion, and a feeling of powerlessness. Nevertheless, university courses are still geared almost wholly towards the development of technical and analytical abilities.

It is said that experts are of the opinion that this gap is not sustainable anymore. Mental health must not be something that is at the disposal for extra hours and occasional counseling only. Emotional resilience should be the defining professional competency especially of those who are expected to be the social and environmental leaders in the long run.

Embedding mental health in sustainability education would be an extension of psychological literacy in all aspects of learning. Students will be equipped with knowledge on the effects of stress on their decision making, the role of emotions in inspiring leadership and negotiation, and how they can carry out emotional regulation and boundary setting even when they are under high pressure. When students go on fieldwork and community projects, they can be allowed some time for a reflection session that focuses on emotional experience as well as the technical outcome. Offering interdisciplinary courses that merge environmental studies with psychology would be another way to help students learn how human behaviour impacts environmental outcomes.

Besides, this change could be seen as opening the door to new possibilities for psychology professionals. In fact, psychotherapists and counselors are no longer finding their only employment opportunities inside clinics or hospitals as they extend their collaboration to climate organisations, NGOs, research institutes, and corporate sustainability teams. Their tasks vary from formulating resilience programs and performing behavioural studies to helping professionals getting burnt out and those suffering from distress caused by the current climatic changes. Mental health counselling careers are finding their way back to the forefront of sustainability, oriented sectors.

Institutions and policymakers should take the lead. Universities might identify mental well being as one of the learning outcomes, the accreditation bodies could require psychological competencies to be part of the programme standards, and the funding agencies may facilitate interdisciplinary research. Further, training faculty in mental health awareness and leveraging digital tools for counseling and peer support can help consolidate this ecosystem.

In the end, when mental health is included as part of sustainability education, it is a very strong statement that caring for the earth and caring for the people are totally interconnected. We cannot think of building a sustainable future if the minds are tired and the emotions are burnt out. Hence, emotionally resilient leaders might well be one of the greatest investments for the long term sustainability.

In a bid to provide technology driven skills to medical and life science professionals, the University of Delhi (DU) on Wednesday unveiled an online certificate course titled "Application of Artificial Intelligence in Health Sciences".

The course was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, Prof. Yogesh Singh, who stressed preparing healthcare professionals for a future where artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies would be dominant. Prof. Singh said that the medical profession is being radically altered by technological changes, and educational institutions must take the lead in adapting to these changes.

Apart from clinical knowledge, future doctors will have to be well versed with the latest technologies such as AI, data analytics, and machine learning, Prof. Singh remarked, citing the universities' role in producing future, ready, tech, savvy medical graduates.

The certificate course delivered entirely online has been developed with a strong eye on the real, life applications of AI in health sciences, which cover among others, diagnostics, disease prediction, medical imaging, and healthcare data management. The programme is expected to facilitate the upskilling of doctors, researchers, healthcare professionals, as well as life science graduates, who are interested in the sector where medicine meets technology.

The university representative explained that the course is a great example of how DU is moving towards interdisciplinary and skill, based education, which is one of the main features of the world's most current trends in the healthcare and biomedical research sectors. By the combination of AI and health sciences, the university intends to lessen the gap between medical knowledge and technological innovation, thus, equipping professionals to be able to handle the needs of the modern healthcare systems.

The program is timed right with how more and more AI, based solutions are being integrated in hospitals, research institutions, and public health programs both in India and worldwide.

Odisha has come to a critical juncture both in terms of higher education and industrial development. On the one hand, the State has been successful in gradually broadening its technical and professional education sectors. However, it still does not have a nationally recognized institution that could serve as a cornerstone for high, level pharmaceutical education and research.

The lack of a National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) is restricting Odishas capability to unlock the full potential of its pharmaceutical sector.

The insistence on establishing a NIPER in Odisha is neither a recent nor a trend driven idea. Since 2012, various academic circles and professional organizations, including the Odisha Pharmaceutical Industries Forum (OPIF) and the Indian Pharmaceutical Graduates Association (IPGA), have been on a continuous swing of this issue at the forefront.

The proposal was officially submitted to the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers at the time when Mr Srikant Jena was the Minister, and the argument has been taken up at the national level.

Later, the then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik communicated to the Centre the States willingness along with the commitment to provide institutional support and make available the required infrastructure.

Odisha’s claim rests not merely on precedent but on proven capacity. The State has a long history of supporting pharmaceutical education, starting from the 17th century, and presently is home to a large network of pharmacy institutions that together contribute a huge number of diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate graduates annually. However, the lack of a research oriented national institution like a NIPER has resulted in a continuous flow of skilled people from the State to others for advanced education and research. This persistent leakage of human capital makes local research ecosystems weaker, hampers productive industry, academia collaboration, and limits the establishment of innovation, driven pharmaceutical enterprises in Odisha.

A NIPER in Odisha would be able to fill these structural holes. It would enhance postgraduate and doctoral education, increase pharmaceutical and translational research, and help create closer industry, academic institution partnerships. Importantly, it would also help correct regional imbalances in the distribution of national research institutions. Eastern India remains under- served in pharmaceutical education and innovation despite its growing industrial and human resource base, and Odisha is well positioned to serve as a regional anchor. There have been recent events that have given extra weight to this demand that has lasted for a long time. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested the Central Government to consider the setting up of a NIPER in Odisha, referring to the states growing educational ecosystem and the importance of the state in geopolitical terms.

The decision of the Centre to allocate funds through the budget to three new NIPERs under the Biopharma SHAKTI initiative is evidence enough of the suitability of Odisha in this context, especially considering the governments declared goal of making Eastern India a significant contributor to national growth. At the level of the State government, the present administration has on several occasions emphasized the development of Odisha as a pharmaceutical and healthcare hub through policy support and research, led growth.

The State Health Minister has communicated to the Legislative Assembly that a suitable plot of land at the State capital has been proposed for the creation of a NIPER, thus indicating the readiness of the administration. The moment for deliberation has passed; what Odisha now requires is decisive action. Through continuous efforts of advocacy, evidence of preparedness, agreement between the political parties, and clear national relevance, the case for setting up a NIPER in Odisha is both compelling and thorough.

The central government must grab this chance to turn words into action by giving the green light and fast, tracking the setting up of a NIPER in the state. Besides fulfilling the promise that has been made for a long time, it will also open the eastern region of India to the pharmaceutical market potential, keep and develop the local talent, and make India stronger in healthcare and life sciences through self, reliance.

A NIPER in Odisha would be an exemplary model of inclusive development wherein the visionary policy and purposeful execution would meet. The rest is a timely and decisive action from the centre.

With readiness of the institution, political consensus, and national relevance thoroughly established, the case for a NIPER in Odisha is hard to ignore. Green, lighting and fast, tracking the establishment of such an institution would not only be a tribute to the commitments made over the years but also a way to unlock the pharmaceutical potential of eastern India, keep and develop local talent, and make India self, reliant in healthcare and life sciences. A NIPER in Odisha would be a strong symbol of inclusive development, a place where policy vision and purposeful execution meet.

The Gujarat high court on Monday ordered the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the Directorate General of Health Services to reconsider the case of MBBS Swara Kiran Bhatt and give her an opportunity to be included in the merit list of eligible candidates for NEET, PG Round 3 under the NRI quota, as she failed to upload one mandatory document the NRI sponsor's passbook at the time of application.

While instructing MCC to consider Bhatt's candidature, Justice Nirzar Desai also asked her to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the HC legal services committee because a student was the one who said that she would make the donation of the money even if she finally did not get admission in PG courses.

As per the facts of the case, Bhatt completed her MBBS on an NRI seat, which was sponsored by her maternal aunt. She appeared for NEET, PG 2025 and got an All-India Rank of 1, 80, 339, and her score was way above the cut, off marks.

When she applied for the PG courses, she failed to upload the sponsor's passbook. This resulted in rejection of her candidature, and she approached the HC seeking a direction to MCC to include her name in the NRI eligible list and permit her participation in counselling.

It was submitted that though she could not upload the sponsor's passbook, a mandatory document to be supplied for eligibility in the NRI quota, she sent the document by email to the authority on Jan 30. The omission was a minor lacuna and must not cost the student her career.

MCC's counsel Ankit Shah opposed the petition, stating that the admission process substantially progressed and the counselling window was set to close on Monday noon, when the arguments took place. He maintained that non-uploading of the sponsor's passbook justified non-consideration of her candidature. After the hearing, the high court said, "It is expected that a person who already became a doctor and aspires to become a specialist would adhere to and maintain the requisite precision and be absolutely meticulous while uploading the application form. However, such a minor mistake of failing to upload a single document ought not to result in a lifetime regret for a student like the petitioner."

The HC directed the authorities "to consider the case of the petitioner in the merit list, if the petitioner is otherwise found eligible". They were ordered not to reject her claim for a PG NEET seat solely on account of the lacuna of the failure to upload the passbook of the sponsor while filling up the PG NEET application form.

Children with neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders can benefit from the integration of Ayurveda, yoga, and modern therapies, a senior official from the All India Institute of Ayurveda, Goa, said on Saturday. The institute launched in November 2025 the PRAYAS centre, a first-of-its-kind facility, which uses a combination of the three pathways to provide coordinated rehabilitation services and improve the quality of affected children's lives, the official said. Since its launch, the integrated paediatric neuro-rehabilitation centre has benefited 574 patients through the dedicated neuro-muscular and neuro-behavioural OPD, and extended integrated care to 176 children through IPD services, the institute said.

"PRAYAS is a beacon of hope for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, integrating Ayurveda's holistic principles with multidisciplinary therapies to foster remarkable improvements in their quality of life. "We are determined to take this model to more families all over India by leveraging our institute's commitment to innovative and compassionate care, "

Dr Sujata Kadam, Dean (Academic and Administration) at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) Goa, stated.

A three, year, old boy with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy was treated at the PRAYAS centre. The mother of the child said, "Initially, my son couldn't even stand or walk by himself. After his treatment at PRAYAS, there has been a remarkable change and my child is now able to walk without any support."

Encouraging clinical outcomes have been observed in this case, Dr Rahul Ghuse, Assistant Professor, Department of Kaumarbhritya (Ayurved Pediatrics), AIIA Goa, said.

The institute is now looking towards tying up with special schools in the western coastal state to provide specialised services to children in community settings.

"We are looking forward to establishing memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with special schools across Goa."By joining forces, we'll be able to bring our specialized services right to the doors of the less fortunate children. This way, integrative neuro, rehabilitation can be made available to the community members who need it the most, " Dr Ghuse elaborated.

The PRAYAS at AIIA Goa, has been functioning as a multidisciplinary facility, delivering integrated, child, centred care to children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention, deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), global developmental delay and other neuromuscular and neurobehavioral disorders.

The centre incorporates Ayurveda, based treatments with physiotherapy, yoga, speech therapy, occupational therapy and modern paediatric care, thus allowing for comprehensive assessment, individualised care planning, caregiver counselling and structured follow, up, Dr Ghuse added.

PRAYAS, through a well, defined, evidence, based integrative care pathway, is aiming at achieving functional changes that can be quantified as well as an improved quality of life for children with neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders. They are also backed by standardized documentation and outcome tracking, " the institute stated.

Underscoring the next phase of strengthening and scale-up, Dr Sumeet Goel, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Kaumarbhritya (Ayurved Paediatrics), AIIA Goa, said, "Our future efforts will focus on developing standardised treatment guidelines and generating evidence to support replication of the PRAYAS model at larger public health levels, enabling wider access to integrative paediatric neuro-rehabilitation services." The move towards integrative approaches is even getting a boost from the state level.

During a recent interaction with Ayush and wellness stakeholders in Panaji, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of Goa pointed out the increasing capability of the state in the holistic wellness area and requested a set of rules that would help integrated wellness to be more robust. He also reiterated the vision of Goa to become a global hub for wellness and medical value travel.

The National Health Policy 2017 aims at an integrative, preventive, promotive and rehabilitative healthcare system. It also emphasizes the continuity of care through strengthened service delivery, which this initiative is in line with.

Globally, such service models resonate with international frameworks that emphasise people-centred integration of safe and effective traditional medicine into health systems, including focus on clinical practice guidelines, workforce development and standardised data systems, Dr Ghuse said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2026 has a five-pronged approach for the growth of the textile sector of the country. One key element of the proposed budget is placing design education and creative skills at the centre of the government’s education and employment strategy, outlining measures to align learning with jobs, enterprise and services-led growth.

“The Indian design industry is expanding rapidly, and yet there is a shortage of Indian designers. I propose to establish, through a challenge route, a new National Institute of Design (NID) to boost design education and development in the eastern region of India,” the finance minister said.

Samarth 2.0, one of the proposed measures, will modernise and upgrade the textile skilling ecosystem through collaboration with industry and academic institutions. 

“ It is a welcome announcement because when I was trying to apply to fashion institutes from Assam, the entrance exams clashed with state board exams. Now we have an NID in my hometown, Jorhat and the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Shillong. Study of Muga silk is also introduced in the syllabus, which is a good push,” said Sushmita Choudhury, a fashion designer and former student of the International Institute of Fashion Design, Hyderabad.

7 NIDs and 16 NIFTs

The NID is a group of autonomous public design institutes in India, the first of which was established in 1961 in Ahmedabad. Currently, there are seven NIDs in India and 16 NIFTs that focus on textile designing.

The latest NID was set up in Jorhat in 2019, while NIFT Srinagar was the last one to be set up in 2016.

“An increasing number of institutes can also dilute the quality of education, because they need highly trained faculty and well-equipped design labs,” said stylist Neha Sinha, a former student of NIFT, Chennai.

The Indian fashion design industry had a market value of approximately ₹15.1 lakh crore in 2023 and is expected to reach around Rs 45.3 lakh crore by 2032.

Indian luxury labels are also transitioning from niche offerings to becoming established institutions.

A majority of Indian consumers now prefer shopping from homegrown and small businesses, as per a 2025 report. The survey, conducted with YouGov across 18 states with 5,000 respondents, found that  58 per cent of Indians choose local brands.

“ While new institutes are being set up, the curriculum needs to change because students are not taught how to set up a brand, or even taught about GST. They are taught to make a cost sheet, but not how to price the final garment. That’s why students end up working for other designers, instead of learning how to set up their label,” said Choudhury.

VIT Bhopal University in partnership with Johns Hopkins University (JHU), USA, is calling for registrations for Health Hack 2026: Improving Health Access for All. An international hackathon, Health Hack 2026, has a plan set for February 10, 12, 2026. The project aims at encouraging practical, tech, driven healthcare access solutions with a focus on rural and ignored areas. Health Hack 2026 launch is the direct result of the successful influence of Health Hack 2025 last February. Bringing together a diverse mix of participants, including researchers, clinicians, technologists, and students, the event effectively solved real, world healthcare problems through data, driven and AI enabled solutions.

Under the guidance of VIT Bhopal management team, including Hon'ble Chancellor Dr. G. Viswanathan, Vice President Mr. Sankar Viswanathan, Assistant Vice President Ms. Kadhambari S. Viswanathan, and Trustee Ms. Ramani Balasundaram, the program comprise keynote addresses, technical sessions, workshops, and problem, solving competitive tracks that led to a number of novel healthcare prototypes. The success stories solidified VIT Bhopal's position as a leading center for healthcare research and strong partnership between industry and academia. The 2026 edition builds on this impact made possible through collaborative research-led efforts.

After securing participation from such top, name institutions as IITs, NITs, IIITs, government medical colleges and even international universities in the last edition, Health Hack 2026 intends to extend its reach significantly by allowing data scientists, engineers, healthcare professionals, innovators and students from both India and abroad to come on board.

In teams cross, disciplinary and comprising up to six members, the participants will find the following areas as their main points of focus: telemedicine as a tool for health equity, predictive analytics as a means of preventing illness, AI, powered management of chronic diseases, accessibility of mental health services, and the health, tech sector in general.

Waiting to be more than just another hackathon, Health Hack 2026 will put heavy stress on the development of scaled, up real, world prototypes. Participants will be provided not only with high quality datasets, but also APIs and guidance through mentors coming from industry and research partners, such as Intelehealth and the Gupta, Klinsky India Institute.

Throughout the series of advanced events hosted on VIT Bhopal's over 300, acre campus, one of the most cutting, edge facilities in the country, attendees will be encouraged to come up with solutions ranging from early diagnosis of diseases, tailored medication, safe management of health records, and implementation of AI, in, ethics frameworks to a direct and conscious consideration of people living in a situation of exclusion from healthcare.

They will get the chance to work together in a hands, on interdisciplinary collaboration setting. Besides that, they can also enhance their AI and data analytics skills, deepen their knowledge of healthcare engineering, and expand their network with world experts from VIT Bhopal and JHUs Whiting School of Engineering, a school that houses the world's top ranked biomedical engineering program.

Winning teams will be rewarded with cash prizes of 1, 00, 000, 50, 000, and 25, 000 for first, second, and third places, respectively. Besides, they will be given a chance to work with mentors to take their ideas to the next level. Above all, the hackathon is a brilliant way of giving back to society by coming up with solutions that make a positive social impact.

Registration and Key Dates

Final Phase: 1012 February 2026, VIT Bhopal

For more details, visit: https://vitbhopal.ac.in/health-hackathon/; or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About VIT Bhopal University:

VIT Bhopal University, a multidisciplinary university located in Madhya Pradesh, was established in 2017 and is part of the legacy of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) group of institutions. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes in engineering, management, sciences, and allied disciplines on a 300 acre green campus.

The campus houses a 100 percent doctoral faculty, and the university runs the CALTECH initiative, a unique technological approach to the teaching, learning process that combines industry practices, research exposure, and experiential learning. Through the STARS programme (Support the Advancement of Rural Students), VIT Bhopal is also offering completely free education, lodging and boarding to meritorious students from rural backgrounds.

Strong industry collaborations and an emphasis on outcome based education are hallmarks of the university which makes it a great place to prepare future, ready graduates for the rapidly changing world.

AIFSET 2026 is a golden opportunity for forensic science aspirants for a career of great adventure, unraveling real-world mysteries using science. This national-level exam helps one pursue B.Sc. and M.Sc. forensic science courses from 150+ universities across India. However, knowing the right time to take this forensic science entrance exam can make all the difference in your preparation journey. 

What is AIFSET 2026?

The All India Forensic Science Entrance Test (AIFSET) is your direct ticket to the premier forensic courses, designed especially for students dreaming of cracking cases in crime labs/courtrooms. Unlike one-time exams, which are a big source of pressure, AIFSET conducts multiple rounds across the year, which gives you the freedom to choose the best slot as per your pace and schedule of studies. You can easily take the test from home on your laptop or phone with no hassle of travelling, just sit for 60 minutes and answer 100 MCQs worth 100 marks. There is no negative marking to worry about which ensures you don’t lose extra marks. This flexibility is indeed the need of the hour for busy aspirants who are juggling school, coaching, or part-time jobs. 

AIFSET Exam Schedule: Monthly Opportunities

AIFSET 2026 is conducted every month in multiple phases to help forensic enthusiasts decide the right time as per one's readiness. It doesn’t matter if you're aiming for early admissions or one needs more months to polish his/her skills. Registrations usually open a few weeks before each round just like for this month the registrations are closing on 20th feb. 

Additionally, results are quick (usually within 2-3 days) followed by counselling which is a must to enroll for getting seats in any of the 150+ partner institutes without any delay. Decide when you want to take the exam, prepare and start your career in the field of forensic science. .

Why Like to Attempt your AIFSET in the Right Month

With up to three attempts, the rhythm of AIFSET monthly helps you to strategize smartly, take it early to secure scholarships or retake it in the next cycle, if necessary, gaining confidence with each attempt. Early birds get the best seats in eminent universities, such as the ones Parul university, SMRU, Silver Oak, APG Shimla, and more, while later slots are for the weak students to brush up on weak areas, such as physics or general knowledge. This setup reduces stress to a great extent, as you have the control of the timeline in the midst of the competitive entrance scenario in India. Thousands have aced it remotely, you can too and make forensic passion a high demanding job paying lakhs after graduation itself. 

Eligibility and Easy Steps for Registration

For BSc Forensic Science (3 years) Class 12 with 50% in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology or Maths opens the gate MSc requires relevant BSc with 50% marks, even if you're in the final year. Head to aifset.com, fill up an online form with basic info such as email, marks, pay the fee and book your slot. It's that simple and admit cards come out 2 days before the exam date. No age bar, just pure merit, and it is open for all the aspirants from J&K to Kanyakumari.

Preparation Tips to Help You Succeed

Focus on NCERT basics for science, practice MCQs on crime scene topic, mock test to nail time management syllabus resembles your school strength. Monthly exams implies targeted prep: one month for revision, next for full simulations. Other than this, you can download free resources from the official AIFSET portal and prepare.

Remember, your future is in your hands. Your AIFSET score will be your forensic future decision-maker, take it seriously and build a future you'll be happy & proud to have. Register now for the AIFSET and become a forensic expert in India. 

Confused about design entrance exams? AIDAT (All India Design Aptitude Test) is the national level online exam to enter 300+ UG Course, PG Courses and Design Diploma courses across the top colleges in India. In this article, you will learn about the best online design entrance test in India.

What is AIDAT?

All India Design Aptitude Test is a national level entrance test designed for creative individuals who despise rote learning and traditional entrance tests. Conducted by Edinbox, AIDAT 2026 stands as one of the best stepping stones for starting a graphic design career in India. Students taking NIFT 2026 on 8th feb must consider this exam if they miss their chance of securing a seat via NIFT. 

AIDAT Exam Overview

AIDAT has the two-stage format which is ideal for learning actual design skills:

Stage 1: 60-minute multiple-choice questions (MCQ) test (100 questions) consisting of design aptitude, sketching, 2D/3D visualization, colors, logical reasoning, and knowledge of current affairs (GK) AI adjusts difficulty. 3 attempts permitted (best score counts).

Stage 2: Portfolio interview - Upload 10 page PDF of your work + chatbot discussion with experts.

This design entrance test is very convenient because of its online exam format that allows you to take the exam from anywhere using a phone, laptop or pc with stable internet connection. The registration fee is only 2000 rupees. Through this exam, design aspirants can pursue a graphic design career path as well as other specializations like UI/UX, product design, transportation design, and more. 

Why Graphic Designers Are Preferring AIDAT

Aspiring graphic designers choose AIDAT for smart reasons:

1. Wide College Access: Single test makes way to top  Design institutes.
2. ​Portfolio Power: Stage 2 values the sketches/graphics over rote marks, great for self taught Behance/Instagram creators.
3. Consecutive attempts allowed: 3 attempts take the stress out of an exam and let a student score higher if he/she doesn’t clear the cut-off in one attempt..
4. Job-Ready Focus: Tests practical skills (textures, proportions, creative thinking) that equate to Adobe Suite/Figma agency jobs.

With India's design market hitting the mark of 10,000 crores (NASSCOM), AIDAT graduates land jobs with Ogilvy, Infosys Design or Startups earning 6-12 LPA jobs faster.

Quick Prep Tips

Practice memory drawing, color wheels, and logic puzzles on a daily basis. Build a strong portfolio of 10 pages by compiling all your graphic projects. 

In summary, AIDAT makes it easy to gain admittance to design while highlighting real talent. Graphic designers prefer it to avoid crowded exams and accelerate their creative careers. Enroll for the exam now and become a successful graphic designer. 

Note: Register at aidatexam.com or connect over call @08035018542 for free career consultation.

Wish to solve crimes like in web series? Forensic science transforms science into justice whereby evidence such as DNA and prints are used to solve cases. This is a promising sector with stable careers in police laboratories, CBI, and cybercrime departments, ideal to science students after Class 12.

What is Forensic Science?

Forensic science uses biology, chemistry, physics and technology to study crimes. Scientists examine blood, computer data, ballistics, and papers to assist the courts. It has crime scene work, lab testing and courtroom testimony in India. DNA forensics, toxicology, cyber forensics, and question documents are some of the specialties that are in high demand because of the increasing crimes and the need for proof in courts.

Demand and Scope in India

The demand of forensic science increases rapidly alongside the number of crimes, cyber frauds and new laboratories. The government establishes district forensic centres, establishing positions in CBI, IB, state FSLs and police. Cybersecurity and corporate fraud experts are required in private firms.

Career Opportunities and Average Salary

1. Forensic scientist

National average salary: ₹13,41,000 per year

2. 11. Forensic specialist

National average salary: ₹14,80,000 per year

3. Pathologist

National average salary: ₹48,000 per month

4. Private investigator

National average salary: ₹2,69,000 per year

5. Criminal lawyer

National average salary: ₹ 3,91,000 per year

6. Forensic analyst

National average salary: ₹ 6,56,000 per year

7. Police officer

National average salary: ₹ 4,29,000 per year

8. Forensic science professor

National average salary: ₹ 2,40,000 per year

9. Forensics manager

National average salary: ₹8,50,000 per year

10. Forensic science technician

National average salary: ₹ 2,43,000 per year

11. Cyber Forensic Expert

National average salary: 3,45,000 per year

12. DNA Specialist

National average salary: 80,000 per month

13. Forensic Toxicologist

National average salary: 17, 55,000 per year

India currently has a shortage of 10,000+ professionals, which guarantees employment. In foreign countries, the wages amount to 2-5 lakh/month.

Salary Expectations

Freshers earn ₹25,000-₹40,000/month (₹3-5 LPA). It increases to 40,000-70,000/month (5-8 LPA) with 2-5 years experience. Government/private seniors hit ₹80,000- 1.2 lakh+/month ( 10-15+ LPA). 

Step-by-Step Career Path

Here are simple steps to follow to build a career in Forensic Science : 

• Complete schooling in Science stream (PCB/PCM) with 50-60% minimum marks
• Do some research about the field 
• Understand different job roles, significance, future scope and salary range
• Choose the right entrance test after 12th
• Take the entrance test and be eligible for admission
• Pick the university as per your requirements
• Learn skills, participate in conferences and workshops 
• Make complete use of your college life

forensic science

• UG: BSc Forensic science (3 years), BSc Hons (4 years).
• PG: MSc Forensic Science (2 years)
• Diploma/Certificates: To enter fast (6-12 months)
• Specialised courses: Cyber forensics, criminology, and cyber security. 

Best Entrance Exams in Forensic Sciences.

These national/state tests are mandatory in most top colleges in India. Candidates interested in forensic science courses must choose one of the following exams or two for backup: 

Eligibility: 50% in Class12 Science. Exams held May-July annually.

Top Colleges in Forensic Science

• NFSU Gujarat (top-ranked)
• Amity University
• LPU Punjab
• GGSIPU Delhi
• Osmania University
• Gujarat Forensic Sciences University.

Fees: ₹1-2 lakh/year for BSc.

Candidates must note that field work means working long hours and dealing with emotional cases that might leave you traumatised. Keep up with technology such as AI forensics, network through internships in state FSLs, and ensure to keep your head straight because your career depends on your skills. 

Forensic science is a purpose-driven profession that has an increasing demand. Choose CUET/AIFSET, enter one of the best colleges, and be an expert helping the society solve mysteries, and earn a good package to live happily. 

Agriculture is no longer confined to traditional farming. In today's India it is a modern, science-driven and technology-aided field with diverse career opportunities. With increasing importance being given to food security, sustainability, agribusiness and agri-technology, today, many students are also seriously looking for agriculture courses after 12th as a career option.

If you are a student who has completed your Class 12 and are looking for a steady, respected, and future-ready career, then this guide will help you know the full list of agriculture courses after 12th, entrance exam, eligibility, career scope, and salary.

Why Pursue Agriculture Courses After 12th? 

India is an agriculture driven country, and agriculture remains one of the biggest contributors to employment. However, today's agriculture in the modern world is very different from that of the previous decade. It now includes scientific research, technology, data analysis, management, exports and environment planning; not everyone can be an agripreneur, farmer, researcher, or 

Students opting for agriculture courses after 12th can pursue their career in government jobs, private businesses and research institutions, startups or even entrepreneurship. With more and more demand for a skilled professional, agriculture has become a stable and fruitful domain for students who have a science background.

Admission Eligibility For Agriculture Courses After 12th

Most of the processes after 12th in agriculture require students to have completed their schooling with Science stream especially subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

General eligibility criteria include:

• Passing of Class 12 from a recognised board
• Science stream with PCB or PCMB (varies with course)
• Minimum aggregate marks required by the institute
• Some universities and colleges conduct entrance exams while some provide admission on merit basis.

Complete List of Agriculture Courses after 12th (Degree, Diploma & Certificate)

Below is a detailed and updated list of popular agriculture courses after 12th which students can opt for from the field of agriculture in India.

Bachelor Degree Agriculture Course After 12th

Bachelor's degree programmes are the most preferred agriculture courses after 12th for students who are looking at long term career growth.

Bachelors of Science (BSc) Agriculture

This is most popular and widely recognised after 12th agriculture course. It focuses on crop production, soil science, plant breeding, agriculture economics and farm management.

BSc Horticulture

This course covers fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops and landscaping. It is ideal for those who are interested in high-value crop production.

BSc Forestry

BSc Forestry is focused on forest management, conservation, wildlife protection and environmental sustainability.

BSc Fisheries Science

This course is related to fish farming, aquaculture, marine biology and fishery management.

BSc in Agriculture Biotechnology

This programme integrates agriculture with biotechnology and emphasizes on genetics, plant tissue culture and crop improvement.

B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) Agricultural Engineering

This course includes focus on farm machinery, irrigation systems, renewable energy and post-harvest technology.

Diploma Courses in Agriculture After 12th

Diploma programmes are short-term, skill-oriented programmes in agriculture following the 12th and are good for those students who wish for early employment.

Diploma in Agriculture

Includes information on basic agricultural practices, crop production, soil management and farm operations.

Diploma in Horticulture

Focuses on nursery management, fruit production, floriculture and vegetable production.

Diploma in Organic Farming

Teaches organic crop production, sustainable agriculture and natural farming techniques.

Diploma in Seed Technology

Includes seed production, quality control, testing and certification.

Certificate Agriculture Courses After 12Th

Certificate courses are short duration programmes on specific skills in the field of agriculture.

Certificate in Organic Agriculture

Ideal for students who are interested in sustainable farming without chemicals.

Certificate Course in Dairy Farming

Focuses on milk production, cattle management and dairy business

Certificate in Agri Business Management

Introduces students to the fundamentals of agricultural marketing, supply chain and agribusiness.

Entrance Exams for Agriculture Course After 12th

Admission to the agriculture courses after 12th may require entrance exams to be given depending on the institute.

Some of the most common routes to admission are:

• Agriculture entrance examinations at state level
• Entrance tests specific to the universities
• National level examinations for selective institutions

However, in many private colleges and diploma institutes, direct admission is given based on marks obtained in Class 12. However, students seeking faster, easy and assured admission in top universities should consider the AIACAT entrance test, also called All India Agriculture Common Aptitude Test. 

List of Agriculture Entrance Tests

Career Scope After Agriculture Courses After 12th

The scope of career after pursuing agriculture courses after the 12th is wide and constantly growing. Graduates can work as:

• Agricultural Officers
• Farm Managers
• Horticulturists
• Soil Scientists
• Agricultural Consultants
• Quality Control Officers
• Agri-Sales and Marketing Managers
• Research Assistants

Students can also opt for higher education such as MSc Agriculture, MBA in Agribusiness or prepare for government exams.

Salary After agriculture courses After 12th

Salary after agriculture courses after 12th is different on the basis of qualification, role and sector:

1. Entry level salaries range generally between the Rs.20,000 to Rs.40,000 a month
2. With experience professionals can get paid between Rs 6 - 10 LPA or more
3. Government jobs offer steady pay with allowances and long term benefits.
4. Entrepreneurial ventures and agribusiness startups can provide a lot more income in the long run.

Government Jobs After Agriculture Course After 12th

Agriculture graduates can join the various government positions in:

• State Departments of Agriculture
• Research institutions
• Public sector undertakings
• Rural development agencies

These roles provide job security, respect, and career progression.

Is Agriculture a Good Career Choice After 12th?

Yes, agriculture is a very good option and future-oriented career choice after class 12, particularly in India. With the growing emphasis on food production, sustainability, climate-resilient farming and agri-technology, the need for trained professionals is growing year after year. Students who have interests in science, environment and the building of the nation will find agriculture courses after class 12th both meaningful and rewarding.

Choosing from the various agriculture courses after 12th may seem overwhelming, the trick is to match your interest with the right specialisation. Whether you are considering a degree, diploma or certificate course, there are a variety of careers available in agriculture and they are stable careers with long-term growth potential.

With the right education and skills, agriculture can start to be more than a mere profession and can be a great contribution to the future of India. So, take the right entrance test (perhaps AIACAT because it's 100% online) and pursue your desired career path in Agriculture Sector from the top university. 

Note: Give us a call on  for more information or free career counselling. 

Want to study law in the top colleges in India with your AICLET score? You're at the right place! These private top law schools in India  that accept AICLET scores, provide BA LLB, BBA LLB, and LLM courses along with better opportunities and exposure. With better faculty, good campus, and great job opportunities, these colleges make you prepared for court or office jobs. Here is the list of top law colleges in India accepting AICLET scores for easy admission.

Top Private Law Schools in India

1. A.P G. Shimla University, Himachal Pradesh
2. Dayananda Sagar University, Bangalore
3. IEC University, Himachal Pradesh
4. Silver Oak University 
5. Starex University, Gurugram, Haryana
6. Geeta University, Haryana
7. Mody University, Rajasthan
8. Apex University, Rajasthan
9. Mangalayatan University, Aligarh
10. Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur Rajasthan
11. Usha Martin College, Ranchi
12. MATS University,Raipur
13. Sanskriti University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
14. Rayat Bahra University, Punjab
15. Bahra University, Himachal Pradesh
16. Vikrant University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
17. Saraswati Group Of Colleges Mohali, Punjab
18. Parul University, Vadodara, Gujarat
19. Gokul Global University, Siddhpur, Gujarat
20. Swarrnim Startup & Innovation University, Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat
21. Sage University, Indore
22. Jaipur National University, Rajasthan
23. Invertis University, Bareilly,Uttar Pradesh
24. Om Sterling Global University, Haryana
25. Lovely Professional University Phagwara, Punjab
26. Rai University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
27. Amity University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
28. Amity University, Jaipur, Rajasthan
29. Amity University, Mumbai
30. Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
31. Amity University, Bangalore, Karnataka
32. Amity University, Raipur, Chattisgarh
33. Amity University, Gurgaon (Manesar)
34. RIMT University, Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab
35. Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana Ambala, Haryana
36. Sandip University, Nashik, Maharashtra
37. Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
38. Bennett University Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
39. MGM Group Of Institutions Patna ,Bihar
40. Chandigarh University Mohali, Punjab
41. Chandigarh University, Lucknow
42. Sandip University, Madhubani, Bihar
43. Chandigarh Group Of College Jhanjeri,Mohali
44. Shri Khushal Das University, Hanumangarh(Raj.)
45. Chanakya University, Bengaluru
46. Sage University, Bhopal
47. Centurion University Bhubaneswar, Odisha
48. IILM University University , Gurugrams Haryana
49. IILM University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
50. Shoolini University, Bajhol, Himachal Pradesh
51. Manav Rachna University, Faridabad, Haryana
52. Ajeenkya Dy Patil University, Pune
53. Om Sterling Global University, Hisar, Haryana
54. Vijaybhoomi University, Greater Mumbai
55. Vishwakarma University, Pune, Maharashtra
56. Sai University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
57. Apeejay Satya University, Gurgaon, Haryana
58. JECRC University, Jaipur, Rajasthan
59. JECRC University, Jaipur, Rajasthan
60. JECRC University, Jaipur, Rajasthan
61. JECRC University, Jaipur, Rajasthan
62. Alliance University, Bangalore
63. TS Mishra University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
64. Sushant University, Gurgaon, Haryana
65. The Neotia University, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal
66. Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Jaipur Rajasthan
67. Swami Vivekananda University, Kolkata
68. University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya

Choose from the above top law colleges that are accepting AICLET scores to begin your law education perfectly. These colleges have low fees, big campuses, and job assistance. Check cutoffs, visit colleges, and apply now, seats fill up fast! Prepare for AICLET and enter the top law school in India. 

Not sure if this information is sufficient for you to decide? Connect with us for more information or free consultation at 08071296498. 

FAQs

1. What is the AICLET exam?

AICLET, also known as the All India Common Law Entrance Test, is a simple entrance exam for law courses such as BA LLB, LLM and more. It tests your English, GK, logic, and legal aptitude. Students can appear for the exam from anywhere using their phone, laptop or PC. This makes it India’s one of the best entrance exams for law admissions in 2026 for students who are seeking quality education and not the tag of government law school graduate. 

2. Which are the top law colleges in South India accepting AICLET?

The top ones include Christ University, Alliance School of Law, and Dayanand Sagar University. These colleges accept AICLET scores and provide good job placement in law firms.

3. Is AICLET an easy entrance test?

Yes, AICLET is an easy entrance test for hassle-free admission. 

4. Can I get admission in law college with a low AICLET score?

Yes, some colleges have management quotas. But try to get admission in merit seats to save money. Also, AICLET offers three attempts giving you a second chance  to score well. 

5. Do these colleges provide job assistance after completing a law course?

Yes! Most of these colleges have 70-90% job placement rates.

Want to cover the news about NEP 2025, CUET controversies or IIT admissions? Education journalism requires writers who understand exams, policies, and student issues. This guide covers step by step path, top courses, and best entrance exams for education journalism after 12th.

What Is Education Journalism?

Education journalism is  exactly like journalism but it’s only focused on education. It covers all aspects of education and related entities like schools, colleges, entrance exams (JEE, NEET, CUET & all the other exams), scholarships, and policies like India's National Education Policy. Reporters work for The Times of India, Hindustan Times or portals such as Edinbox.com, Shiksha.com., College Dekho, College Duniya, PW, etc. The demand for education journalists   is high with a rising population and mushrooming educational institutes.

Key skills required to be an educational journalist include fact-checking exam data, interviewing principals, breaking down policy jargon for students.

Eligibility for a Beginning Education Journalism Career

• After 12th: 50% marks (Any stream) for BA Journalism/Mass Comm (BAJMC).
• Age: 17+ years.
• Skills: Good English/Hindi, Interest in education news.
• No prior experience is required - internships are course-based.

Step-by-Step: How to Become an Education Journalist

Follow this roadmap to become an education reporter in 3 years:

• Choose BAJMC or BJMC (3 years) - Focus on reporting, editing, media ethics.
• Clear Entrance Exam - Merit or test based admission.
• Build Portfolio - Cover campus events, write for college media.
• Intern at News Sites - The Hindu Education, Indian Express.
• Specialise - PG Diploma in Investigative Journalism.
• Land Jobs - Starting from ₹4-6 LPA (freshers), ₹12+ LPA (5 years).

Best Entrance Exams for Education Journalism Courses

CUET UG is the best for the beginners - National level, Accepted by 250+ universities like DU, BHU, JNU for BAJMC. Covers GK, English, current affairs (perfect for education beat). Exam: May 2026, apply before Jan ends.

Pro Tip: CUET scores work for 80% of top colleges but GMCET is the most convenient entrance exam for admission into top media colleges. Take both tests and choose the right college. Prep with NCERT + newspapers.

Top Colleges for Education Journalism in India

• National School of Journalism and Public Discourse (NSOJ)
• NRAI School of Mass Communication
• JECRC University
• Mumbai Educational Trust 
• GNA University,Phagwara
• Ajeenkya DY Patil University 
• The NorthCap University
• Dev Bhoomi Uttarakhand University
• School Of Broadcasting And Communication
• Auro University
• Alliance University Anekal
• PCTE Group Of Institutions
• Mody University
• Renaissance University
• APG Shimla ,Himachal Pradesh
• Amity University 
• Bennett University
• Chandigarh University
• Uttaranchal  University
• MGM Group Of Institutions

How to Prepare for the Best Journalism Entrance Exam?

1. Syllabus: English (20%), GK/Education News (30%), Reasoning (20%), Media Aptitude (30%).
2. Books: "Journalism Basics" by Keval J. Kumar, The editorials of The Hindu.
3. Mock Tests: NTA site, 1 month daily practise.
4. Success Rate: 10-15% selection - concentrate on current education news such as CUET 2026 changes

Is this Field a Good Pick in 2026? 

Yes, this field is a good pick because of the growing education sector. Aspirants of education journalism have a bright future ahead with the vacancy for expert, talented and truth-oriented field as well as desk journalists are increasing. Top media agencies like TOI, Hindustan times and more are seeking fresh talents especially genZ who understand the needs and discrepancies surrounding the education field. Thus,  this field is a good pick if you are interested in journalism but don’t wish to get involved in global news or political news. 

So, start by taking the right entrance test. Connect with us for free career consultation or more information at 08035018499.

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.

When scientists first saw a Platypus in 1799, they named it a hoax. Duck bill on a beaver body with venomous spurs? Absurd. Yet this evolutionary odd ball has survived 110 million years - through asteroid strikes and ice ages that killed giants. Secret? Perfect niche mastery. It preys when it's blind, by just using electroreceptors, swims where predators can't follow and combines reptile-mammal characteristics no one else has. That’s exactly what a small university dominating global rankings is– a Platypus.

Your small university or tier-2/tier-3 college in Lucknow, Coimbatore or Jaipur has similar skepticism. Less funding than IITs. Smaller faculty pools. No global brand. But the Platypus Effect is the proof of small wins through ruthless specialisation.

Global Rankings Don't Reward Size, They Reward These 5 Metrics

QS World University Rankings 2025 (1,500+ institutions): 40% academic reputation 20% citations per faculty 20% faculty-student ratio. Times Higher Education 2025: Teaching quality 29.5%, weight heavily on research impact. NIRF India 2025: Teaching resources (30 points), Research Productivity (30 points), Graduate outcomes (20 points).

So, how do small universities climb the rankings in the world? The truth is that all three measure current output and not historical prestige or what your university has achieved earlier. NIRF 2025 data shocked everyone because 42 Universities crashed India's top 100, mostly from ranks 51-200. A jump in score of 3.99 = 40 rank position gained. Small universities are faster when they work on focusing exactly like a platypus would usually do.

Small Universities Must Become a Platypus

We all know about Phineas and Ferbs, and you are surely aware of how their pet platypus kept being their lucky charm, right? Perry was a detective in the show who was thought to be a quiet animal but did things no one expected. That’s exactly what these creatures did in the real world! 

Have you ever thought how could this species defy the law of nature and survive? Experts believed these creatures couldn’t last longer in this evolving world but Platypus Perry is a dopey looking pet that somehow outsmarts supervillains every day. Tier-2/3 colleges have Perry's agility advantage. You teach 80% of India's graduates in cities building real infrastructure and resources in defense, agriculture, manufacturing, not just Bengaluru’s IT unicorns.

UPES has climbed 250 QS positions owning energy engineering. Graphic Era University specialized in niches of hill states of tech. Madan Mohan Malaviya University (Gorakhpur) leaped NIRF bands by focused research. These aren't flukes, they're Platypus Effect Execution. 

How Can a University Improve its Ranking: 5-Steps to Take

Instead of accepting your fate of being an autonomous or local university and googling things like “how small can a university be,” start acting like a platypus and gradually become Perry the Platyus defying all the perceptions of growth, and achieve global recognition.  It is not an impossible task; you need to take just 5 fundamental steps:

1.  Pick Your Driver (Niche Dominance That Crushes Giants)

Forget about copying IIT curriculums. Search "university niche specialization success" - same story everywhere. Rural university? Own agri-biotech where there is no elite to bother? Industrial city? Rule advanced manufacturing. Tier-2 tech hub? Fintech, drones, cyber security.

UPES proves the math: Target 5 publications per department annually in your niche. Launch 1-2 research centers. Citations are on balloons within 18 months, pulling all the ranking metrics up. Giants spread thin across 50 disciplines. You go deep in 3-5 where you can actually win. This isn't theory, it's how small universities actually beat others in world rankings.

1. Smart Global Moves (International Clout Without Millions)

QS/THE international outlook = 10% of score. You beat lumbering giants here.

How? 

1. Email 10 professors worldwide doing adjacent niche work
2. Propose co-authored papers (they want Indian collaborators too)
3. Host 2-3 funded international PhDs in your research center
4. Your deal closes in 3 months. IITs take 2 years.

Result: International co-authorship metrics skyrocket across all systems

3. Faculty = Your Rocket Fuel (Research Productivity Blueprint)

NIRF data: Phd faculty share jumped 28% (2017) to 48% (2025) in climbing universities. Small unis make rockstars faster than tier 1 inherits them.

Execute:

• Biweekly journal clubs (acquaint students with research talk)
• Conference travel grants ($1K/each moves metrics)
• Writing groups + editing support (most papers die here)
• Publication bonuses (25K/paper works)
• HODs: Start by your top 3 researchers. One department's progress drives the institution.

4. Graduate Outcomes: Your Invisible Weapon

All rankings obsess over placements. Recruiters ask "Can they deliver Day 1?" not "IIT or tier-3?" Your local advantage dominates here. Map district-level hiring needs. Secure 5-10 employer pipelines for live projects and internships. Track alumni 3 years out, publish their success stories aggressively. Tier-2 placement rates hit 60-70% through relationships, boosting NIRF graduation outcomes (20 points) dramatically. 

5. Data Dashboard or Die

Assign two staff to track monthly NIRF score calculators, QS citation trajectories, 3-year alumni employment rates, and international paper pipelines. Calculate your exact NIRF/QS/THE scores today. Set department targets. Conduct quarterly reviews. Cambridge University of Kashmir's 2025 plan proves this math works.

Will Local Universities Get Rankings Even If Gen Z Skips Daily College?

Ranking disregards the number of students in the classroom - they are pursuing what students attain after getting their degrees. The 20 point graduation outcomes section of NIRF addresses median salary, PHD admissions, and employer response 3 years later. The QS employer reputation surveys also place one question to the hiring managers, which is whether they would re-hire their graduates again. Halls of lectures that are empty do not enroll.

Years ago physical attendance as a measure was killed. The Choice-Based Credit System created by NAAC already includes the exposure hours in the industry, online modules, and capstone projects as equals to the classroom time. Your student of mechanical engineering in Coimbatore who spends his mornings at a local plant of TVS and afternoons writing automation systems That is all academic credit according to the 2023 rules.

There is a latent advantage to the tier-3 colleges. Students are local residents who have to commute over short distances and are employed on part-time basis by local employers. The B.Tech final-year student who was working night shifts with the district pharma unit as he studied theory online? NAAC gives those hours of practice 3 times the credits on outcome-based learning.

Reorganize Gen Z reality

Introduction of "Work-Learn Degrees" that will have students attending partner companies 60 percent of the time, and campus 40 percent of the time. Local steel mills, garment factories, automobile parts, they must have good juniors at once. One semester of actual productive line work is equal to three years of textbook knowledge on the scores of employer perception.

District-level hiring maps beat national placement cells.. The graduate of your local civil engineering school doing the bridges on the state PWD has exponentially more NIRF weight on him than an attendee at a daily meeting. VCs: recruit one placement officer that will be familiar with all the owners of the factories within 50km. Publicize alumni wages on a per company basis, rather than percentage basis. Earnings information is more reputable than attendance certificates.

Gen Z skipping routine classes hands you outcome-based ranking dominance. Everyday college was no longer possible because employers began recruiting through GitHub profiles and LinkedIn projects. Construct the system that rewards them on what they actually accomplish. Rankings are after graduate success stories and not roll call sheets. 

What Deans, HODs, VCs of Local Universities Need To Do For Dominating Rankings?

HODs begin with the department meeting at 9 AM. Assign clear paper quotas by discipline - Computer Science gets five Scopus papers this year, Biotech wants to have four Q1 journals. Schedule weekly biweekly research huddles in which faculty share paper drafts and receive immediate feedback. Before lunch: One targeted email to a professor overseas who is working on related research. One department doing so generates institutional momentum. NIRF research scores jump 15-20 points if faculty are serious about it.

Deans declare money for research seed funding Monday afternoon. Launch dashboards for citations, international work and alumni placements by department. Faculty growth trumps new buildings for QS, THE and NIRF rankings. Recruiters hire graduates that deliver rather than campus architecture.

VCs dedicate 5% of the operating budget to research operations immediately. Personal one international partnership calls your position an opening door. Celebrate first publications through public assemblies and press releases. Visible ranking improvements come in 24 months through execution, not aspiration. NIRF 2025 showed 42 universities got into the top 100 through focused action.

Rankings are for doers, not dreamers. HODs create momentum. Deans are engine builders of research. VCs deliver results. Small universities move upward by acting Monday morning.

How to Apply for World Rankings (As Small/Local University) (Do This NOW)

Stop waiting for "prestige." Rankings reward action. Download QS Stars rating system (perfect for small universities) - they rate niche excellence even if you're unranked. Submit THE Impact Rankings (1,500+ small universities qualify)—your agri-tech center scores high. NIRF registration opens up in March - upload teaching metrics, research output, even starting from zero. ARWU (Shanghai Rankings) accepts research-focused submissions using publication records only.

Week 1 action: Assign two staff to calculate some existing NIRF/QS scores using the public methodology documents. 

Week 2: Sign up for QS Stars + THE Impact. 

Week 3: Launch niche research center 5 paper target 

Small universities witness between 20 - 40 jumps in positions Year 2 when they treat rankings as operations not dreams. And universities searching "how small universities apply QS rankings," same steps are to be followed everywhere.

Your River Is Waiting, Dive-in Or Let Others Rule It

Gladwell proved that underdogs win 64% with adapted strategy. NIRF 2025's fastest climbers? Tier-2/3 universities. Nazarbayev University gained World Recognition from the same focus. 2025 saw small universities jump when they were focused. 2026 is execution time.

The Platypus Effect isn't theory. It's biology. It's rankings math. It's UPES jumping 250 QS positions. It's 42 NIRF universities are in the top 100.

Leaders googling “how small universities dominate global rankings” are seeking for hope and you are now holding the playbook. So, stop apologizing for being small or local. Rule your river. Execute without mercy. Rankings will follow! 

Rankings ke piche mt bhago, kabil bano aur rankings apke piche bhagengi! (Rancho, 3 idiots)

Walk into any Indian university today and you can sense two strong currents in the air. One is excitement. Artificial intelligence, automation and new digital tools are expanding what students can build, design and publish—often in weeks, not years. The other is anxiety. Job markets are uncertain, business cycles are unpredictable, and many roles are being redesigned faster than degrees can update themselves.

In that tension sits the most urgent question for higher education: what is a university preparing a student for, really? If the answer is only “a job,” the institution is already behind the curve. But if the answer is “a life of value creation under uncertainty,” then the university’s core mandate changes. It must teach people how to innovate—not occasionally, not as a hobby, and not only in engineering and management, but across disciplines and across the entire functioning of

the university.

That is why the idea of an “innovation university” matters. It is not a new centre with a new logo. It is a campus-wide operating system—leadership, culture, incentives, assessment, resources and partnerships—designed to make new ideas routine and execution normal.

From “Entrepreneurial University” to “Engaged University”: An Indian Upgrade

Globally, innovation in universities is often framed through the lens of commercialization: patents, licensing and high-tech spin-offs. That “entrepreneurial university” model has value, but in much of India the deeper opportunity lies elsewhere. The more relevant shift is toward an “engaged university”—one that still participates in economic growth, but stays rooted in regional problem-solving, sustainability and community partnership.

This is not a philosophical preference; it is a pragmatic reading of India’s innovation terrain. Many of the country’s most urgent innovation needs are not only breakthroughs in labs, but solutions that work at scale in real conditions—affordable healthcare delivery, climate resilience, learning outcomes, safety, skilling, MSME productivity, and governance services that reach the last mile.

In such contexts, universities can act as protected “shelters” where students, faculty, communities and NGOs co-create frugal and inclusive innovations—solutions designed to be affordable, adaptable and accessible.

When a university internalises this mission, it stops behaving like a “people factory” and starts behaving like an anchor institution: a reliable idea generator with the ability to change outcomes beyond the campus walls.

Innovation Is Not an Event. It Is a System.

Many campuses already host hackathons, startup weekends and innovation festivals. They create noise, photographs and short-term energy. But without a system, the energy dissipates after the event. The document you shared makes the central point clearly: innovation succeeds when universities build mutually reinforcing enablers, not isolated activities.

That is the logic behind the 10Square Model, which frames innovation culture as ten interacting levers that together turn a campus into a “cradle of new ventures.” The lesson is not to chase ten separate projects, but to design a connected ecosystem where one reform amplifies the next.

The Model for Future Universities

The model explicitly warns against checklist thinking: the power lies in systemic interaction. Consider one practical example from the same framework. Leadership may publicly encourage risk-taking, but that message remains rhetorical if assessment continues to reward only memory and compliance. The moment a university changes evaluation to give credit for prototypes, pitches and documented learning from failure, the culture becomes real.

In innovation, what gets measured gets done. Leadership: The First Campus Innovation Tool Innovation dies first in fear—fear of being judged, fear of failing, fear of “wasting time” on something that will not be graded. Your document makes a direct link between positive, participative leadership and the psychological safety that allows students and faculty to pursue bold ideas.

This is where many Indian institutions can act immediately without waiting for new buildings or large budgets. Leadership can normalise experimentation by making it visible and safe—by celebrating attempts, rewarding learning, and treating failure as data rather than disgrace.

Universities that do this are not lowering standards; they are changing the standard from “perfect answers” to “credible problem-solving.” 

Admissions and Branding: Recruit Innovators, Not Only Toppers

Most universities market programmes. Innovation universities market problems worth solving. That is a subtle but decisive shift in admissions and public communication. Instead of presenting only infrastructure and placements, campuses can showcase real challenges sourced from local industry, civic bodies, hospitals, schools and NGOs—then show how student teams worked on them.

This approach also changes admissions logic. An innovation-oriented admissions track can recognise portfolios, projects, hackathon participation, creative work and community problem-solving evidence—not as “extra-curricular,” but as valid indicators of future value creation.

Scholarships become a strategic tool in this ecosystem. The document highlights a reality that Indian families understand deeply: the biggest barrier to pursuing entrepreneurship is often financial risk. Targeted entrepreneurship scholarships create a “runway” that de-risks early venture work, while also providing “smart capital” through networks, mentorship and credibility.

Curriculum: Make Innovation a Graduate Attribute, Not an Elective

Most institutions treat innovation as a course students may opt into if they have spare time. The innovation university treats it as a graduate attribute—something every student should practise, regardless of discipline.

The practical implication is straightforward. Every programme can be designed with a staged innovation pathway: early grounding in innovation methods, then discipline-based studios, then live problem labs, and finally a capstone project that produces something tangible—a prototype, a policy design, a service redesign, a validated venture idea, or an impact solution with measurable outcomes.

Interdisciplinary design is non-negotiable. Breakthrough ideas often emerge at intersections, and structured cross-major challenges create stronger ventures and more adaptable innovators. India already has institutional references for how this can scale. University-linked incubators such as IIT Bombay’s Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) demonstrate what happens when research, mentoring and venture support sit close to the student

journey.

The point for other universities is not to copy an IIT model wholesale, but to replicate the principle: make pathways visible, support consistent, and outcomes count.

Pedagogy: Shift from “Coverage” to “Creation”

Innovation cannot be taught only through lectures. It is learned through building—by stepping into messy problems, listening to users, testing ideas, and iterating quickly. Your document uses a powerful phrase for this: “organic learning.” It describes a shift away from lecture-hall transmission toward experiential discovery, where students engage directly with complex, unstructured real-world problems and learn the foundational entrepreneurial act of identifying and understanding a problem worth solving.

This is particularly relevant for Indian campuses because it aligns naturally with the country’s real needs. A municipal ward, a district hospital, a government school cluster, an MSME association, a farmer collective, a tourism cluster, a women’s self-help group—each can

become a learning partner.

In such settings, students learn to operate under constraints, build frugal prototypes, and measure what actually changes. The broader claim in the document is that such learning environments stimulate autonomy, intrinsic motivation and diverse perspectives, which are key conditions for creativity. In other words, the pedagogy is not “practical training” in a narrow sense; it is a direct route to innovation capacity.

Evaluation: If You Grade Only Exams, You Will Get Only Exams

Assessment is where the university’s true priorities become visible. If exams dominate, innovation becomes extracurricular—even if the institution runs events and builds centres. Your document’s “Multi Assessment” approach argues for assessment methods that can capture dynamic skills like creativity, risk-taking and practical problem-solving, which traditional exams and essays measure poorly.

It recommends authentic assessment through realistic tasks such as investor pitches, marketing plans, working prototypes, portfolios, public demonstrations, and structured peer and self-assessment. The deeper point is cultural: when venture creation itself earns academic

credit, students understand that innovation is not a side hustle. It is legitimate academic work.

For Indian universities, this is one of the most direct levers to pull because it does not require permission from the future. It requires courage in the present: to redesign rubrics and to trust documented learning and real outcomes.

The Innovation Policy Tailwind Is Already Here

Indian higher education does not have to invent a policy justification for this shift. The National Innovation and Startup Policy 2019 is explicit about the gap: “innovation is still not the epicenter of education,” and HEIs must enable a cultural and attitudinal shift so that innovation and startup culture becomes a primary fulcrum of higher education.

Similarly, the Ministry of Education’s Institution’s Innovation Councils (IIC) framework spells out what many campuses need operationally: conduct innovation and entrepreneurship activities, identify and reward innovations, organise interactions with entrepreneurs and investors, and create mentor pools for student innovators.

In other words, universities that move now are not acting “outside the system.” They are acting in alignment with the direction the system is already encouraging.

Technology and the Digital Campus: The “Central Nervous System” of Innovation

The innovation university is not only about new courses. It is also about the infrastructure of collaboration. Your document describes technology integration as the “central nervous system” of a scalable ecosystem—enabling virtual incubators, collaboration tools and modern venture development. This matters because innovation is team sport. Students need shared workspaces, version control for ideas, rapid feedback loops, access to digital resources, and platforms that connect them to mentors and industry. When digital systems are absent or fragmented, innovation becomes slow and elite. When they are available, innovation becomes routine and inclusive.

Campus Operations as a Living Lab: Innovation That Starts at Home

A university that wants an innovation culture cannot run its own operations like a bureaucracy. The campus itself can become a living lab—especially through sustainability and service redesign.

The document points to green infrastructure as a pathway to turn campuses into living laboratories—renewables, circular waste systems, biodiversity and measurable resource efficiency—while inspiring eco-preneurship. It also suggests “innovation operations projects” where student teams improve energy, water, waste, transport, queue systems, library usage, alumni engagement and grievance redressal, with improvements measured and iterated.

This is a powerful cultural signal. When students see their university practising innovation in its own daily functioning, they stop treating innovation as theatre and start treating it as normal work.

Linking Learners to Economy and Society: The Innovation Corridor

The engaged university’s ambition is to connect learning with the economy and society in sustained ways. The document describes this as building an “innovation corridor” through problem-solving internships, MSME clinics run by faculty-student teams, co-created projects with NGOs and government departments, and pipelines that connect prototypes to incubators, investors and markets.

India’s strongest campus ecosystems show what happens when this corridor becomes an institutional habit. IIT Madras, for instance, announced in December 2025 that its incubation cell had incubated 511 startups, crossing the 500 milestone with a combined valuation of over ₹53,000 crore and more than 11,000 direct jobs, illustrating the economic impact of sustained support structures. At IIT Bombay, SINE launched an incubator-linked deep-tech VC fund in December 2025, explicitly designed to provide early-stage risk capital to deep-tech startups emerging from academic and research institutions.

These examples are not meant to intimidate non-IIT campuses. They are meant to clarify the mechanism: consistent mentoring, structured pathways, supportive policy, and credible financing options turn student ambition into durable outcomes.

A Final Word: The Campus Must Change Before the World Forces It To

The heart of the argument in your document is simple and hard to ignore: innovation is not a festival. It is a habit. And habits are built through what a campus rewards daily—what it teaches, how it evaluates, how it mentors, how it funds risk, and how it connects students to real problems in society.

India’s universities can either remain reactive, updating courses after industries have already moved on, or they can become the country’s most reliable “future factory,” where every learner learns to build, test, rethink and deliver value. The institutions that make this shift will not only improve placements. They will produce citizens and professionals who can design solutions under uncertainty, create enterprises and services, strengthen communities, and make the economy more resilient. In a time when change is constant and certainty is rare, that may be the

most practical definition of education itself.

The author is the Chief Mentor of Edinbox and works as a Director with the Techno India group of Kolkata, along with being the Principal Adviser of the Kolkata based university of the group.