What is a "good" salary at the start of your career? Is financial progress more important than career satisfaction and future security? These are dilemmas many young professionals face, especially in a setting where private sector pay scales and government benefits afford extremely different career trajectories. A recent case — that of a 22-year-old graduate in engineering who just rejected the private IT industry for a government research job — has reignited this debate, especially after friends informed him that his Rs 18 lakh-a-year offer was "low." 

A Change of Track: From Coding to Research

The young man, a mechanical engineering graduate from a Tier-3 institution in Mumbai, started working with an IT company on a salary of Rs 3.6 lakh per annum. Still, he had his heart fixed on a research job, so he started preparing for the competitive exams held by premier central government research institutes. After clearing the recruitment process, he joined as a Scientific Officer in Mumbai.

His new job has the Rs 18 lakh per annum salary, and all kinds of government benefits — family medical cover, an annual airfare allowance within India, education assistance to children, and a pension scheme guaranteed from April. The job also has stability, non-transferability, and a right over housing in the posh Mumbai areas. 

Surprising Resistance from Friends

Apart from the competitive package and benefits, the young scientist was surprised when some of his friends murmured disappointment, saying that he was shortchanging himself. Most of these friends demonstrated that the IT industry would provide more compensation in the long term, even though most of them received less than half his package.

Their observations left him perplexed, particularly since some of them argued his salary increase would one day lag behind theirs. But statistics he provided indicated otherwise — his colleague who has served in the same organization for 14 years currently takes home about Rs 42 lakh, with future revisions to be done by the pay commissions that are likely to boost this amount by a significant margin.

Reddit Weighs In: The Scientist Is Supported

The post gained much attention on Reddit with the users coming to the scientist's defense. One user mentioned that his new pay compared to his previous Rs 3.6 lakh job must be taken as the real comparison, calling the difference "remarkable" at the age of 22.

Others have claimed that most in the IT sector, with 14–20 years of experience, are uncertain due to fast-paced technological changes and automation threats. The point raised was that constant layoffs are now becoming the new normal, and constant growth in IT is continuously ensured by constant upskilling. A government research job, on the other hand, provides predictability and guarantee.

The Bigger Picture: Perks Beyond Pay

Other Reddit commenters pointed out that compensation by itself is not the whole value of a job. One user explained that the entire package of benefits — from medical care and housing to pension and employment security — makes work as a scientist desirable. Others even discussed how unusual such benefits are in the private sector, where long-term tenure is no longer assured.

Other users were also curious if his friends were judging him due to jealousy or insecurity. They advised him to be cautious of the shift in their attitude since it was from those who were earning much less than him.

In his own reply to the post, the young scientist said that he prioritizes meaningful work and financial security over pursuing numbers. He mentioned requiring sufficient money for occasional overseas vacations with his parents but not at the expense of being satisfied with work or having a work-life balance.

He concurred that his colleagues who are working in IT can receive more pay for a short time, but his present work suits him according to his interest. He also did not plan to move to technical areas such as AI since he did not want to pursue further study.

As a move toward incorporating new-age technology into place-based education, Government Higher Secondary School, Muttam in Nagapattinam district has introduced a smart classroom to enhance fisheries education.

It is one of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan's Technology Customization Scheme, a scheme "Development of Online Learning Tools at Government Higher Secondary School, Muttam Village for Imparting Fisheries Education." The smart class will enable both online and offline learning with emphasis on general education as well as on fisheries science and engineering-a subject directly of interest to the students from this coastal region.

  1. Kesavan, the project's Principal Investigator, underlined how education should be context oriented. "Fisheries is not just a way of living here, but also a sustainable and dynamic profession. Our aim is to give students exposure to contemporary tools linking age-old practices with opportunities of the future," he said.

The program will introduce the students to marine science and fisheries careers, with a combination of classroom education and hands-on application. The education will comprise modules in sustainable fishing, entrepreneurship, and basic conservation of marine ecosystems, among others.

School headmistress Shanthi welcomed the upgrade, anticipating similar digital progress to not only increase enrollment but also drive the students to seek local industry-based employment.

This thoughtful classroom design is part of a larger effort to revamp rural schooling and make it applicable to rural society, especially in fisheries, agriculture, and sun and wind energy. It is also part of the effort to introduce government schools to the age of computers and adopt vocational studies that will give students more than the standard classroom fare.

India’s push toward digital education is reshaping classrooms across the country, from AI-powered Anganwadis to tablet-enabled lessons schools.India’s education system has always been vast and complex, but over the last few years, it’s also become digital. From government platforms to private learning apps, classrooms are being reshaped,not just by policy or pedagogy, but by software and screens. The transformation is uneven. Some areas are innovating rapidly. Others are still trying to ensure a stable internet connection.

The push began with good intentions. Platforms like DIKSHA, SWAYAM, and PM eVidya were launched to centralize learning resources, especially during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns. These platforms provide free digital textbooks, video lectures, and even teacher training materials in regional languages. At the same time, private companies like Byju’s, Vedantu, and Unacademy flooded the market with AI-driven dashboards and gamified learning experiences. In well-connected urban classrooms, students began using tablets instead of notebooks, teachers assigned video modules, and parents tracked progress through apps. For some, this was a leap forward.

But India isn’t just its cities. In rural and remote regions, where electricity is unstable and internet access spotty, digital learning is more of a challenge than a solution. According to the Annual Status of Education Report, only about one-fourth of rural households have consistent access to the internet. In homes with multiple children and one smartphone, students have to take turns learning. And many Anganwadi and government school teachers, especially in tribal belts, are still navigating the basics of digital tools.

This is what makes examples like Nagpur’s recent innovation so striking. In July, the Maharashtra government inaugurated the country’s first AI-powered Anganwadi in Waddhamna village under the “Mission Bal Bharari” scheme. The centre uses artificial intelligence to track individual learning levels, virtual reality headsets to aid concept understanding, and tablets for interactive activities for children aged 3 to 6. It’s a big contrast to the usual chalkboard-and-floor model of early childhood education in rural India. More importantly, the Anganwadi workers here were trained before the launch,a crucial but often overlooked step in making tech work where it’s needed most.

This wasn’t just a one-off project either. The government plans to expand this model to over forty centres across the Hingna and Kamptee blocks of Nagpur district. It’s a sign that with the right planning,hardware, software, and human support ed-tech can be used meaningfully, even in rural settings. Contrast that with earlier attempts like the rollout of the Poshan Tracker app across Maharashtra’s Anganwadis. In that case, many workers were given faulty devices, couldn’t operate the English-only interface, and were even forced to buy new smartphones out of pocket when the official ones didn’t work. The gap between policy and on-ground realities often swallows up the best of intentions.

But it’s not just Nagpur, across Maharashtra, many small but thoughtful shifts are happening. In Gadchiroli, for example, 100 Anganwadis are being converted into ‘Nand Ghars’ modern pre-school centres with e-learning through TVs, digital games, and proper toilets and kitchens. The Majhi E-Shaala initiative in the same district is introducing offline digital learning setups in schools, including smart TVs and projectors with preloaded content. In many of these cases, students themselves are being trained to help peers navigate the digital tools. It’s a simple idea: empower the learner, not just the teacher.

This kind of work isn’t limited to Maharashtra. Across India, the digital shift in education is taking many forms,some ambitious, some improvised, and many deeply local. In Kerala, schools are integrating open-source software like KITE to build smart classrooms without relying on expensive private platforms. Andhra Pradesh is distributing preloaded tablets to government school students through its Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme. In Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, where connectivity remains a serious hurdle, teachers are turning to offline apps and community radio. Gujarat’s Gyan Setu program connects students with digital mentors. In Delhi, public schools are experimenting with AI-based diagnostics to better understand learning gaps. Even the central government’s PM SHRI initiative aims to upgrade more than 14,000 schools with smart classrooms, labs, and digital tools. The scale is huge. But the impact still depends on the same few things: thoughtful rollout, consistent support, and fairness in access.

India’s National Education Policy 2020 doesn’t imagine technology as a replacement. It presents it as a bridge, one that can cross language barriers, content shortages, and geographic isolation. But a bridge only works if it’s built on solid ground. If it’s rushed or uneven, it can collapse under its own weight. And when applied without context, technology risks becoming just another layer of inequality.

The story of India’s digital classroom revolution is not a single narrative. It’s a map full of uneven terrain. There are pockets of brilliance, where tech is being used to amplify learning and include the previously excluded. There are also plenty of places where screens have replaced substance, or where grand announcements have not translated into working devices. What matters now is how the country moves forward whether we continue treating ed-tech as a product to distribute, or as a system to design with care. If the goal is real learning, not just digital access, then the work is only beginning.

Following in the footsteps of pushing the government education towards modernization, Telangana's education department made the development official that AI labs will be installed in all government schools within the Khammam district. The news was revealed by Education Secretary Dr. Yogita Rana during an surprise visit to the Government Primary School in NSP Colony on Thursday.

Dr. Rana visited the functioning school along with Director of School Education, Dr. E. Naveen Nicolas, to take a closer look at AI lab already functioning on the campus. She was impressed with AI being utilized in teaching in the classrooms and highlighted the revolutionary character of the technology in public education.

"AI will make teaching and learning easier, and dramatically enhance the quality of education being delivered through government schools," Dr. Rana informed the media. She pointed out that AI-driven tools and platforms would empower teachers with smart, intuitive tools that offer interactive and personalized learning.

The plan is likely to be in accordance with the state's entire digital education master plan with an aim towards empowering rural and semi-urban students with 21st-century skills. By making use of AI in traditional teaching of the run-of-the-mill curriculum, the department is trying to make students more involved, inclined towards thinking critically, and inclined towards technology from early age.

The move follows as the adoption of AI in the education sector is gaining pace all over India, especially in the aftermath of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aimed at tech-enabled, skills-oriented learning spaces.

Department officials clarified that the AI laboratory model implemented at NSP Colony would be a pilot for others in the district. Scaling up facilities will be carried out in phases, and teacher training and ancillary infrastructure provided in each phase.

This is a giant leap for Telangana online education, especially for government schools, which have been taken hostage by thin budgets and antiquated teaching aids.

Science and Technology Inventions:

The world is moving forward, and the recent inventions and technologies are also moving forward with it. It becomes essential to know the latest inventions that are being done. Well, the students will be benefited by this article as it will introduce them to the recent inventions in science and technology in 2025 for school projects.

2025 is an exciting year of all the new inventions and technology. They should also learn about these. From AI tools for better learning by students to plenty of green new inventions, these projects are excellent learning subjects of school. Students can learn about the new inventions and technology-based projects that they use for school from this article.

New Scientific and Technological Inventions 2025 for School Projects

AI‑Based Learning Tools for All

No one is oblivious to how the world is being transformed by AI and how individuals are utilizing it. Some of the learning tools that one can consider watching, for the sake of assisting them in school assignments, are listed below.

MindCraft: It is particularly designed for rural India and uses AI for personalized learning. The app connects the students with mentors outside their locations.

Audemy: A fresh AI platform solely intended for visually-impaired and blind students. It is accessible to all.

Kira Learning: An AI learning assistant? Yes, heard it correctly! The platform is optimal for grading, lesson planning, and giving feedback.

Immersive Learning through AR, VR & XR

What about an interactive classroom with the assistance of AR, VR & XR? Labster, zSpace and Google Expeditions are some platforms that enable the students to visit Mars or study frogs in their natural habitat without ever leaving the classroom. How cool is that?

zSpace has even introduced the Imagine AR/VR laptop for kids. No headsets needed. You just need to be a stylus and screen-based 3D experience owner.

Hands-on STEM with Robots And DIY Labs

Robotics or Science subject interested students can create a robot to study physics and engineering in a contemporary manner.

Smartphone-Based Physics Labs: Students can experiment using only phone sensors and moving cameras, sound, optics and more. 

Eco-Friendly Inventions for Sustainability

There are numerous inventions taking place in science and technology. Biodegradable electronics are one of them that get spoiled naturally, thereby minimizing e-waste for us.

Solar water purifiers designed at MIT utilize solar energy to clean contaminated and salty water to produce drinking water. Is it wow?

Xenobots 2.0: Living-cell robots that can copy themselves and also assist in cleaning the environment.

Smart, Connected Classrooms

IoT-based classrooms: They automatically regulate temperature and lights with the help of smart sensors.

School in 2025 must not just be concerned about content but also emotional quotient and team-working skills with technology.

Why Are These Innovations Important?

They introduce personalized learning to ensure students learn at their own pace.

Technology can even save nature like eco-innovations. 

Hands-on-robotics and DIY labs can also render the learning process interactive.

Immersive tech such as AR/VR/XR brings your favorite thing to life. You have a good feel of it.

Smart classrooms have the potential to render lessons engaging and ease the workload of teachers.

These findings bring into play a host of ideas in your school work. If you're interested in AI, sustainability, robots, or simply immersive learning tools, there's always something on the table for you.

Here, students can learn quality stuff for free on YouTube, with additional depth on the app.

In an ed-tech space filled with automation, buzzwords, and big data dashboards, Next Toppers is grounded in one core belief: "Hum desh ka bhavishya banate hain." Not only in their content — but in how they teach, communicate, and engage.

Problem with all learning platforms? They forget the learner

In a country where lakhs of students are battling board exams, tension, and performance stress — education can very soon become robotic, even isolated.

Next Toppers is changing that by bringing learning back to being personal.

With Humanities, Commerce, and Science having individual subject channels, a student-focused mobile app, and interactive tools that are designed to not just teach, but to inspire — the platform is making a difference not just in metros, but in tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well where quality academic guidance has always remained beyond reach.

Here, classes aren't simply "watched." They're lived. Students laugh, connect, question, and — most importantly — believe in themselves again.

A new model of learning: Relatable, real, raw

Whether it is Digraj Singh Rajput explaining social science through desi metaphors, Prashant Kirad explaining jargon science theories in crystal clear terms, or Shobhit Nirwan turning a maths class into a life lesson — all Next Toppers teachers are storytellers before they are educators.

This content-led, mentor-based model has acquired the platform a devoted following of hundreds of thousands of students, millions of views, and most recently — a spot in Forbes India, introducing the world to the three visionary co-founders as leaders for inclusive purpose-driven education.

But this is not a success story. It is a service story.

What sets it apart?

  • No paywall-first model. Quality is free to learn on YouTube, with extra help available on the app.
  • Stream-specific focus. Instead of expecting students all to be alike, Next Toppers learns stream-wise content — because a Humanities student deserves the same level of depth as a Science one.
  • Real mentors, real faces. No avatars. No robotic screen shares. Students learn from teachers they know they can trust.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay launched two online Professional Certificate Programmes in Cybersecurity and Software Development as part of a massive programme to fill the digital skill gap. The programmes have already gone on sale, and classes for the first batch of the students will start from September 1, 2025.

Year programs are specifically made for working professionals, college teachers, and third or fourth-year students of engineering, mainly computer science or allied engineering students. There will be on-campus proctored exams for online courses to ensure academic integrity.

Every certificate program includes three well-crafted courses by IIT Bombay faculty with emphasis on experiential learning through bi-weekly lab sessions and hands-on experience with the software technologies employed by leading tech companies.

"These are not formal academics—rather, they're industry-focused and application-based," states an IIT Bombay professor. "We seek to equip students with in-demand tech jobs with profound, practical training."

Careers are excellent. The Indian cyber security market is anticipated to be valued at $10 billion by 2025, and the increasing dependence on software development in most industries, the courses make the learners job-ready as:

Full-Stack Developer

Security Analyst

Security Architect

DevSecOps Engineer

Software Engineer

IIT Bombay, with 17 departments of study and more than 75,000 alumni, is yet far from being surpassed by others in the realms of science and engineering educational innovation. With these additions, the institute is injecting academic seriousness to a larger mass—restless at home, but voraciously devouring content with substance and discipline because of IIT.

The applications are already in.

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