Opinion

There is little doubt about the underlying intentions of the government and Ministry of Education regarding higher education. There is a discernible sense of urgency about making higher educational institutions more competitively positioned, obtaining global recognition for them, and preparing our youth for the future. This is because National Education Policy 2020 is a result of these aspirations. But on the ground level, it is observed that just promoting more competition or modifying higher educational curricula will help little in addressing major challenges existing within higher education.

Today, the question that the nation is still grappling with is whether the higher education institutions have the relevant skills and personnel who will be able to meet the needs of the industries and the businesses. The truth is that many students graduate with degrees but with no employable skills. Consequently, the number of unemployed and educated is continually going up. This is happening at a time when the number of institutions offering higher education is continually rising. It is not an accomplishment when institutions are opened; the question is what is being taught and how.

The NEP 2020 talks about flexibility of curriculums, skill-based education, and multidisciplinary education. The implementation of this has been very slow. Some Central and elite institutions are showing improvement, whereas the situation in State universities and regular colleges is a cause of concern. There are hundreds of vacant teaching posts at many universities. How will the standard of education improve if there are unqualified and untrained teaching staff? This situation is not only prevalent at small colleges but also at Central universities.

This has resulted in a situation where a huge number of Indian students are registering in foreign institutions in search of better learning opportunities, and very few of them get back to the country. Though allowing foreign universities to open campuses in our country may somewhat check this brain drain, it is not a long-term remedy. What matters most in this regard is improving our own institutions. Additionally, it would be pertinent to know why our best institutions can’t reach out to other institutions in terms of academic assistance so that efficient higher education can be accessed in all states.

In doing so, NEP 2020 also underlines that education should and cannot be made relevant solely from the point of view of employment. The emphasis on promoting Indian languages, arts, and education in one’s mother-tongue forms an integral part of education. Despite it being five years that the New Education Policy 2020 came into effect, it is still restricted mainly to policy papers and changes in curriculums. Culture is usually defined in terms of “dance, music, or fine arts,” but it encompasses worldview, language, behavior, and social values.

Education becoming only a tool to provide jobs in itself would make education inefficient. The Indian philosophy has emphasized well-rounded education with the ideal of "Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram." The NEP had the chance to provide well-rounded education to our youth with the assimilation of science and technology with our cultural awareness, which has had poor advancements so far. The diversity that India has is its most coveted assets. Each state has its own language, performing arts culture, and traditions. Children and youth would be better equipped professionals and better citizens if education helps them remain rooted to their culture. It would be right to consider that education in one’s mother tongue would be an efficient path towards progress toward this aim. When the whole world is undergoing the phenomenon of globalization, along with Western systems, the education sector in India should not confine itself merely to competition. Higher education needs a positive transformation through the confluence of quality, employment, and a sense of self-respect for our culture. There will be meaning in education, not merely producing degree-holders out of young people, but sensitized, capable, and culturally conscious citizens.

Sanskrit has long been confined to the narrow perception of being merely the language of religious texts and hymns, while its real strength lies in its logical, mathematical, and highly precise structure. This is precisely why several technological and research institutions around the world are now beginning to view Sanskrit as a potential language of future computing.

For a long time in India, there was a widespread belief that the expansion of computers and digital technology posed a threat to Indian languages, especially Sanskrit and Hindi. The reason was obvious—the dominance of English in the digital world and the foreign nature of technical command languages. But today, as fields such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and quantum technology move in new directions, this perception is rapidly changing. At the centre of this shift stands India’s ancient language—Sanskrit.

Sanskrit has often been reduced to a ritualistic or classical role, ignoring the fact that its real power lies in its logical and rule-based precision. This is why many global technology and research institutions are increasingly exploring Sanskrit as a language suited for advanced computing. The debate gained further momentum after international publications like Forbes described Sanskrit as “the most scientific language.”

From Panini to Programming

The Ashtadhyayi, composed by Maharishi Panini, is not merely a grammatical treatise but a sophisticated rule-based system that closely aligns with modern computational logic. Written nearly 3,000 years ago, its sutras operate on principles similar to today’s “if–then” logic used in programming languages. It is for this reason that many experts believe early computer languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN show traces of Paninian structure.

It is no coincidence that researchers in the United States, Germany, and India are now working to integrate Sanskrit grammar into Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI models. One of the biggest challenges for computers is understanding human language without ambiguity. While languages like English often contain multiple meanings for the same word, Sanskrit’s structure is so precise that the scope for ambiguity is minimal.

Digital Self-Reliance and Indian Thought

India’s journey in supercomputing demonstrates that the country does not retreat when technological self-reliance is at stake. After facing U.S. technology sanctions in the 1980s, the development of the PARAM supercomputer was not just a technical achievement but a symbol of national self-respect. Today, as Indian supercomputers find a place in the global Top-500 list, it is evident that Indian thinking will play a growing role in shaping the technological future.

This very thinking is now extending into quantum computing. Based on qubits, this technology is far more complex and faster than traditional computing. It demands a language that is mathematical, precise, and free from ambiguity—and this is where Sanskrit becomes highly relevant.

Sanskrit: Not a Language of the Past, but of the Future

To assume that Sanskrit belongs only to the past would be a grave mistake. In reality, it is increasingly intersecting with future-defining technologies such as AI, robotics, supercomputing, and quantum computing. If Sanskrit-based computing models succeed in the coming years, it will not merely be a technological milestone but a global revival of India’s intellectual heritage.

In the era of Digital India, the resurgence of Sanskrit sends a powerful message: modernity and tradition are not opposites but complements. It is quite possible that in the future, the most advanced language of technology will be the one the world once dismissed as merely “ancient.”

The regulatory framework in India’s system of higher education has long been marred by fragmented regulatory frameworks, doublings, and complexity in regulatory procedures. The decision taken by the Union government to refer a bill called “Viksit Bharat Education Authority Bill, 2025” to a Joint Parliamentary Committee is noteworthy in this context, as it represents a major and revolutionary move in this regard. The bill promises to abolish existing regulatory frameworks like that of the University Grants Commission, but it also represents a serious statement by a government that is determined to consolidate regulatory frameworks in India’s system of higher education.

The regulation pertaining to higher education in India, till now, was distributed among UGC, AICTE, NCTE, NAAC, and NIRF. Each one was functional within their ambit. This model, although functional in the sense that it strictly holds to the lines of each respective discipline, seems increasingly cumbersome with the setting up of multidisciplinary institutions.

In most cases, duplication was experienced whenever institutions of higher learning needed approvals for various programs and research work from different regulators, causing time and resource waste. It was expected that this fragmented regulatory structure was contrary to the interdisciplinary and flexible nature of education expected under NEP-2020, among the biggest challenges towards implementing this policy.

Main Features of Viksit Bharat Education Authority

One of the most defining characteristics of the proposed Viksit Bharat Education Authority is the fact that it has one comprehensive regulatory body. The creation of verticals in regulation, standard setting, and quality assurance suggests that the government not only wishes to regulate the institutes but also desires better learning outcomes.

Outcome-based education, development of faculty, development and use of modern technology, and mentoring in institutions are some of the areas that will help it be a proactive and a reformist body rather than a bureaucratization body per se. This model will help Indian higher education achieve international best practices if it turns out to be successful.

However, issues raised about this new framework do not lose any validity. The fact that the proposed authority is immediately controlled by the Ministry of Education raises some doubts about the issue of over-centralization. The major test will come when it has to maintain a balance between autonomy and accountability.

In any case, the powers of penalty, closure of institutions, and the like would have to be exercised in a transparent, nondiscriminatory, and merit-based way. Otherwise, the possibility exists that the same distrust and discontent of the old regimes would be replicated in the new arrangements.

The role which has been overlooked in reforms in higher education is another significant area, which pertains to stakeholders away from the state. The view that higher education is solely a governmental responsibility is a simplistic and perilous assumption. Administrators, faculty members, researchers, students, and society must all share responsibility for it.

It would be a loss if the intellectual community continues to make its opinions heard on rights but not on duties. Then any reform, no matter how well-organized, will fail.

The growing criticism concerning the use of Hindi terms, such as the word “Adhishthan”, takes the focus away from the actual point at issue. The debate itself must not primarily revolve around language, but rather quality, accessibility, relevance, and equity in higher education. At such a crucial juncture, the need for India to reform with an open mind to achieve a discrimination-free and effective implementation of policies, and not just political rhetoric, and to achieve that, higher education will find itself in the same slumber that the school education system is presently in. Thus, The Viksit Bharat Education Authority Bill, 2025, is both an opportunity and a challenge that will decide the fate of Indian Higher Education for many years to come.

When astronauts describe life in space, it’s always about floating toothbrushes, recycling water, and the strange silence that exists outside their spacecraft environment,” Walsh said. “It’s been brought up lately, though, that there’s one aspect of life that has not been addressed: menstr

In the course of a reporting project on space medicine, a former flight surgeon at NASA once joked with me about the implications of her experiences with menstrual cycles in space: “Space does not care about your cycle—but the design of spacecraft did.” Space exploration had long been built for the physiology of the average man. But when women increasingly made flights into space, they also had an inconvenient question following in their orbit: What happens to your periods when you're short of water and a toilet?

Bathing is performed with damp wipes. Each gram of trash is carefully placed away until it is ready to be returned to Earth. It is with this background that even changing a sanitary napkin becomes a major feat.

Scientists initially wondered if menstruation itself would function correctly in a weightless environment. "What if, without the influence of gravity, women's menstrual fluid did not drain properly from the body, but actually reversed course?" The notion was a quick myth-busting challenge. The challenge that actually existed concerned something much more mundane: waste and water.

“Pads and tampons create waste—and lots of it. Thousands of items wouldn’t make the cut on long missions, particularly if astronauts are headed to Mars one day. The problem could be dodged altogether by using hormonal pills to delay their menstrual cycle. Several women astronauts chose just that. It worked well, yet it wasn’t the most ideal option in the world—not to mention not everyone could comply with something like that.”

This is where NASA’s current research becomes relevant.

In terms of mission planning, menstrual cup solves a series of issues: no waste, no need to regularly restock the supply, and it takes up less space for storage.

"The problem is not the cup itself," stated a NASA scientist who contributed to the study of human systems. "The problem is how to clean the cup safely and comfortably in microgravity environments.” In actual fact, water acts differently in space. Instead of going down, it floats into a kind of sphere. Scientists and doctors are trying to analyze the manner of cleaning in zero-gravity environments.

As things stand now, the only two options offered to astronauts are either to halt the menstrual flow through hormones or deal with the situation using normal products, thereby having the consequent waste. However, NASA is very specific on the matter. NASA refuses to impose any one solution. “The goal is choice,” declares a top mission planner. “Astronauts should be able to live in space in a way that respects their bodies and health.”

Astronauts could potentially remain away from the Earth’s surface for extended periods of years, and restocking their supplies will not be a possibility. After all, space these days is no longer a man’s only frontier. As an astronaut once said: “If we’re serious about living beyond Earth, our spacecraft have to work for real people.” Including those who menstruate.

Biscoff was once a premium indulgence in India — a ₹300-a-pack import that only a small, urban, affluent audience could access. The ingredient list, while not perfect, was still relatively cleaner than the average mass-market biscuit found on Indian shelves. But that product no longer exists in the same form. Today, Biscoff sells for ₹10, and with that dramatic price drop has come an equally dramatic shift in formulation. The brand’s India strategy is clear: ultra-cheap, ultra-processed, and ultimately ultra-damaging. This is not “making taste accessible.” This is lowering standards to penetrate a market where unhealthy products can still sell in the millions.

The uncomfortable truth — the one nobody in the food industry wants to say out loud — is that global brands often downgrade their formulations when entering developing markets. Refined oils replace better fats, sugar levels rise, additives multiply, and the overall product becomes less about quality and more about scalability. And because India’s regulations allow far more leeway than markets like the EU, companies get away with it. A biscuit that was once a niche luxury has now been reformulated into yet another high-sugar, high-refined-oil, ultra-processed snack designed primarily for mass consumption, not health.

This strategy becomes especially dangerous in a country already burdened by a massive metabolic crisis. India is the world’s diabetes capital with 101 million diabetics and 136 million prediabetics, according to ICMR (2023). Type 2 diabetes here is growing at nearly three times the global average. Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are a major contributing factor. Large international studies have consistently linked UPF consumption to obesity, insulin resistance, gut microbiome imbalance, and early-onset diabetes among younger populations. When a ₹300 product becomes ₹10, it’s not just becoming more affordable — it’s entering the daily diet of people who were never its original consumers.

The ₹10 price point flings open the floodgates. Schoolchildren, low-income households, rural families, teenagers with pocket money — everyone now has access to a product that has been reformulated for cost, not nutrition. This isn’t democratizing taste; it’s democratizing metabolic harm. India already suffers from low health literacy, making the situation even more concerning. When harmful food becomes cheap, the consequences don’t show up in shopping carts — they show up in hospital wards years later.

If global brands truly want to enter the Indian mass market, they need to bring better food, not cheaper junk. The country already has enough homegrown options contributing to poor dietary habits. What we need is nutritional responsibility, not strategic downgrading. Every ₹10 ultra-processed biscuit adds to the nation’s healthcare burden — a burden India can no longer afford. This is not a discussion about biscuits. It is a public health alarm that we cannot afford to ignore.

The headlines are filled with AI bias scandals and the bad condition of AQIs making India and the world stand at the point from where things can either go south or upgrade for good. As per recent reports, by 2030, around 50 million jobs will be exposed to risk, and annual climate disasters will cost 2 lakh crore. This reveals a big hole in current methods, indicating that western technological solutions are not sufficient. The knowledge of the Vedas, the principles of the consciousness of Rigveda and the ethical systems of Upanishads can be of help. Recent articles demonstrate its topicality, but integration is slow. Is Vedic knowledge the solution to AI problems and climate crises? Let's find out. 

Vedic Wisdom and the challenges of AI today.

Artificial intelligence poses complex ethical questions: 

How do we prevent bias in algorithms? 

Can AI systems respect human values and dignity? 

The extensive concern on consciousness unity in the Vedas, which is expressed in the phrase Tat Tvam Asi (you are that) highlights the unity of all beings, an attitude that compels AI developers to include empathy and equity in their designs.

According to recent neurocognitive research associated with Vedic mathematics, right-brain functionality and empathy are improved, which indicates the possibility of using mental paradigms of this tradition to decrease prejudice in the decision-making of AI. Besides, the Vedic concept of Ahimsa (non-violence) can provide a moral framework to minimise harm brought by prejudiced or unethical AI applications, and modern governance models frequently fail to achieve this.

Sustainability Lessons of the Vedas

The crisis of climate and the unsustainable industrial development require alternatives  inspired by holistic knowledge systems. According to the teachings of Vedas, there is cyclic sustainability, with nature working in its cycles and zero waste management, as was observed in the past via the rituals of yajna (sacrifice) which aimed at recycling and ensuring balance in nature.

Indian scientists relate Vedic solar energy theories with the developments in the renewable energy technologies, further developing the green energy in India. Similarly, the Ayurvedic principles have given modern bio-nanotechnology an inspiration where the old wisdom is matched with the new solution in medical and environmental sustainability. 

Climate Crisis Because of AI

As a matter of fact, AI is not a small chip or a wifi router but a massive computer operating in far lands. These massive data centres have enormous facilities, including several powerful computers, which require ample electricity and water to operate and cool down. This intensive consumption of energy is a major contributor towards global carbon emissions, which facilitates the climate crisis. The problem of AI environmental footprint becomes particularly acute with the increase in its use. 

To manage this issue, there is the need to come up with innovative solutions that cut across the balance between sustainability and technological advancement. It’s no  shock that the wisdom of the ancient Vedas can also be applied: during the Vedic era, even the complicated technologies such as weapons and tools that could disturb nature were controlled by well-thought sustainable solutions that could not lead to the destruction of the ecology. This very old practice of keeping harmony with the natural world and focusing on the balance and lack of waste can imply that incorporating the Vedic into current AI infrastructure and technology creation can encourage eco-friendly design and energy-efficient systems to reduce the consequences of AI on the environment. We need researchers to dive deep into this topic and contribute in saving the world while also helping it utilise the advanced technologies.

Research Gaps and the Future

Despite the promising nature of these links, scientific testing is minimal. Few interdisciplinary trials have been undertaken to scale Vedic concepts to policy or industrial uses. Vedic-based Dharma ethical systems have not been properly implemented in the standards of AI governance. Likewise, empirical research to confirm the environmental advantage of the conventional Vedic farming procedures and sustainable use of advanced technologies requires to be extended beyond initial findings.

To achieve the full potential of Vedic knowledge, there is the need to conduct coordinated research (integrating combining randomized control trials, policy pilots, and technology integration). Prior pilot projects in educational settings, such as training AI Developers with vedic ethics or applying zero-waste Vedic farming models, can produce workable data to affect national sustainability plans by 2030.  

Why This Matters for India

India is a country with 1.4 billion people that have reached a critical point: on the one hand, there are AI-based job disruptions, and on the other, extreme pollution and resource consumption. The incorporation of the Vedic ethics and sustainability ideas is a culturally appealing method of technological progress with human-centric values and environmental stewardship.

As a researcher and student, it is possible to gain an advantage with Vedic frameworks in new directions of AI ethics and sustainable innovation. These ancient principles might motivate the policymakers and the leaders of the industries to design governance models and technologies that were more appropriate to the social and ecological conditions in India.

Although Vedic knowledge alone will not answer all the questions of the modern problems in one night, it poses important questions of consciousness, right and wrong, the harmony of nature in such a way that it will enrich the contemporary discussion. India can create a unique project of more responsible AI and sustainable future by scientifically exploring and ethically using these vedic knowledge.