NEP push in Delhi puts focus on Indian knowledge systems in teacher training
'We had been trying to integrate it [IKS training in the two-year B.Ed. programme] for the past couple of years. But it became possible only after a push by the new government in Delhi to implement the NEP,' Prof. Sharma told The Hindu.
She added that the training is aimed at teaching 'things that are not necessarily taught in books, in an attempt to create global teachers with 21st-century skills'. As an example, she cites a popular claim in India, 'We have always been taught that the Wright brothers flew the first aircraft. But the first aircraft was actually flown in India by Bapuji Talpade in Mumbai in 1895, eight years before the Wright brothers.'
'Chemicals in Mahabharata'
As part of the IKS training, the B.Ed. students are also being taught about how Sushruta performed an eye surgery as far back as the 6th century and how certain chemicals are mention in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The budding teachers are expected to use their training while teaching their respective subjects at schools to help 'students learn more about India's culture'.
Prof. Sharma said that they began placing a greater emphasis on IKS training for the 2023-2025 batch, which graduated recently. 'We will now do it more comprehensively for the newer batches. The students will be trained on how to make their pedagogy plans using the pancha kosha philosophy,' she added. The concept of 'pancha kosha (five layers)' of consciousness has its origins in the Upanishads.
The NEP, which aims to integrate IKS in all levels of education, states, 'The rich heritage of ancient and eternal Indian knowledge and thought has been a guiding light for this policy. The pursuit of knowledge (jnan), wisdom (pragya), and truth (satya) was always considered in Indian thought and philosophy as the highest human goal.'
'Will use it in school'
Koushiki Chatterjee, who specialises in chemistry and was part of the B.Ed. batch that just passed out said, 'In the Mahabharata, Arjuna used certain chemicals as make-up to disguise himself as a woman. While teaching chemistry during an internship, I mentioned it to my students.'
Deepali, a second-year B.Ed student who will be teaching at a school in August as part of her internship, said, 'While teaching chemistry, I can teach students about the states of matter, and how ice melts, while touching upon the concept of annamaya kosha (the outer physical layer of the body, which is one of pancha koshas).' 'Pranamaya kosha (energy layer) comes into play when I am teaching students about how liquid changes to gas, as there is a transfer of energy,' she added.
Similarly, Ms. Deepali said she will employ the concept of anandamaya kosha (the spiritual level) when asking students 'to reflect on where they see chemistry in their daily lives'.
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Time of India
3 minutes ago
- Time of India
Our Electric, Hydrogen & Flex Industries Will Become Number One in the World
India is considering a cut in the goods and services tax (GST) rate on fuel blends with higher ethanol content, Nitin Gadkari , minister for road transport and highways, said at an ET Roundtable in New Delhi on July 17. He added that this will encourage greater adoption of vehicles that run on 100 per cent ethanol, which will help reduce India's fossil fuel imports, cut down on pollution and make the country self-reliant. The minister said his intent is to achieve the daily award of 100 km of national highways, compared with the average of 23 km in FY24 or 46.7 km in FY18, the highest so far. Edited excerpts: Question: Who is going to be the next president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? Nitin Gadkari: Your question is right, but the person is wrong. Only the president of the BJP can answer this. Question: Are there differences between the RSS and the party about the position of president? Nitin Gadkari: I have no idea. All talks are within the party. Maybe Mr (JP) Nadda will be able to tell. Question: Will the next president be someone who has been general secretary? Nitin Gadkari: I don't know. If I knew, I would have told you. Question: Are you okay with the alliances in Maharashtra? Nitin Gadkari: Politics is a game of compromises, compulsions, limitations and contradictions. The distance between ideal politics and practical politics is increasing. There is deterioration everywhere. Question: The people you attacked for corruption are with you today. Nitin Gadkari: I told you that there are no permanent enemies in politics. And as the situation evolves, people keep adapting. Question: There has been a backlash against ethanol being imposed on users. What is the current programme? Nitin Gadkari: Initially, India needed surplus food grains. But now we have a problem of storing these surplus food grains. The second problem is that our minimum support price ( MSP ) is high, and the market price is low. That is why I have been working on a mission since 2004, which is the diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector. Today we are importing fossil fuels worth ₹22 lakh crore and our energy dependence is at 85 per cent imports. Economically, this is a challenge. Besides, transportation accounts for 40 per cent of air pollution. On the one hand, there is an economic as well as environmental problem and, on the other hand, the share of agriculture in our GDP is just 12 per cent compared to 20-24 per cent of the manufacturing sector and 52-54 per cent of the service sector. Due to the high levels of unemployment, poverty and starvation in the rural and agriculture sector, a huge part of our population has migrated and urbanised, which in turn has led to a lot of problems for towns like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. I think it is time to increase the share of agriculture in the GDP from 12 per cent to 24 per cent, and the best way to do this is to reduce the import of fossil fuels and move towards converting surplus food into fuel. Question: How will this ecosystem develop and help India? Nitin Gadkari: We are working towards converting surplus food to fuel. Currently, we are using E20 which is a fuel blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent gasoline. We are now exploring to increase it to 27 per cent and eventually 100 per cent ethanol fuel that can completely replace gasoline. This can be done through flex engines. Now, 11 companies including Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota India and Hyundai Motors, among others, have started (working on) this flex engine. Even two-wheeler makers like Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Hero Moto and Honda all are working on 100 per cent ethanol motorcycles. Besides, work is on to blend 10 per cent isobutanol with diesel for commercial vehicles and develop ethanol-run generators as well as other agricultural equipment. India's automobile industry is growing at a fast pace. We are now the third largest at ₹22 lakh crore behind China (₹49 lakh crore) and the US (₹78 lakh crore). Now there is availability of electric, ethanol, methanol , bio diesel, bio energy and hydrogen which can serve as environment-friendly and cost-effective replacements for gasoline. We have also started work on using bamboo in thermal power plants as an alternative to coal as bamboo has high calorific value and produces less carbon dioxide compared to coal, which will help to reduce air pollution too. It will take some time to develop the ecosystem, but this will help to increase per capita income in rural India and the share of agriculture (in the GDP) from 12 per cent to 24 per cent, thus making us self-reliant. Question: India's water table is decreasing, and we see water scarcity in certain parts of the country. How can we address this? Nitin Gadkari: There is no water shortage in India. The way we made the power grid and the road grid, we need to make a water grid. There are 49 river connectivity projects in the country. Every year, flooding causes damage worth ₹2-2.5 lakh crore. While north India has enough water, the problem is in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh , Chhattisgarh and parts of Odisha. I don't have the entire plan ready right now, but water availability is adequate in India. What we need to do is reduce flooding, increase water conservation through recharging ground water, and take surplus water from one basin to another. Question: What is the impact of China's restrictions on India's automobile industry? Nitin Gadkari: Our young population is very talented. We currently have four active areas of research. These are lithium ion, sodium ion, zinc ion and aluminum ion batteries. Now the problem is that we are dependent on China for lithium ion batteries. But our people are doing such a good job that in two-three years, we will become self-reliant. Then we won't need it. Besides, we are going big towards scrapping old vehicles. This will help us extract special metals like cadmium and recycle aluminium, rubber, plastics and steel. Our electric industry, hydrogen industry, and flex industry will be number one in the world. In five years, India will be number one in the automobile sector. Question: Is ethanol commercially viable compared to petrol? What can be done to increase the offtake of ethanol as a fuel? Nitin Gadkari: Ethanol is being used in race cars around the world. I have got a patented technology from Russia, currently under trial in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, to increase the calorific value of ethanol and bring it on a par with petrol. There is a difference between ethanol and costs between ₹54 and ₹65 with the average cost at ₹60, while the rate of petrol is now ₹120. So it is at half rate. So there is no difference in cost, taking into account fuel efficiency, whether a vehicle is run on petrol or on ethanol. The second benefit of ethanol is it cuts our fossil fuel imports. Thirdly, pollution is reduced, agriculture gets benefitted and it boosts rural employment generation. However, there is no adoption of higher ethanol blended fuels because of the 18 per cent GST rate compared to 5 per cent on fuel with up to 20 per cent ethanol. Besides, the difference in the calorific value of ethanol vis-a-vis petrol makes it unviable. It is not becoming popular due to the lack of economics. I presented this to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman , and she informed me that the government could make it 5 per cent in the next GST Council. Question: Will there be any benefit for carmakers under CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) 3 norms? Nitin Gadkari: Extensive meetings have been happening on the issue at the highest level and there is a consensus that we need parity between electric vehicles and flexi engines. The old CAFE norms were electric-centric. The new norms will balance both flex and electric. Different car makers are lobbying to protect their interests, but we will maintain the equilibrium keeping in mind the interest of the country. Pollution, cost, imports and benefits for agriculture will be taken into consideration when we firm up the norms. Question: We have seen a slowdown in the award of contracts in the road sector. Why is that? Nitin Gadkari: Earlier, road projects were awarded on the basis of acquisitions or availability of just 10 per cent of the land. Now, we have mandated the availability of 90 per cent of land with the developer, in the absence of which the appointment date is not assigned. Besides, getting environment and forest clearance is also a requirement. Now, we award the project only when everything is clear. My project award rate has been 38-40 km. Now my intention is to do 100 km per day. This is not my declaration, it is my intention. Neither is it a political declaration. It is a target for our ministry. I will take it to 100 km. Question: Many existing car buyers in Delhi are worried about changing emission norms. What is your take on it? Nitin Gadkari: Technology keeps changing. This is a universal process and happens everywhere. We have to keep pace with the world. Earlier, when we had proposed Euro VI emission norms, there was pressure from multiple stakeholders. After several meetings, one day I said you have to go from Euro IV to Euro VI. Everyone adopted it after a lot of anger and resistance. Today, it is being successfully implemented. Currently we are on Euro VI norms but the world is moving towards Euro VII. We want to be at par with European nations, so we are preparing for it. Question: What are your plans regarding asset monetisation in your sector? Nitin Gadkari: There is no shortage of money. We have multiple models including the engineering procurement and construction (EPC), the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and the hybrid annuity model (HAM). Soon, even toll barriers will be removed. The toll will be deducted from your bank account based on your entry and exit. You don't have to stop anywhere. When I switched to FASTag, toll income increased by ₹10,000 crore. Going forward, when I remove the toll barrier, it will further increase by ₹10,000 crore. In last two years, toll income was ₹1,40,000 crore. If I monetise my project, banks and investors will queue up for it. The InvIT model, when introduced, was oversubscribed by seven times in the first seven hours. There is no shortage of money. When you invest in the InvIT model, I will give you over 8 per cent return. Question: Road safety has been an issue in India. What are the measures being explored? Nitin Gadkari: When I asked automakers to install six airbags, they opposed it. India had set standards for the New Car Assessment Programme ( NCAP ), which was initially opposed. Now, all the small cars in the world are coming to India for testing and all auto makers are competing among themselves to develop the safest cars. Besides, we are putting in place the bus code and truck code that will be at par with international standards, aimed at enhancing road safety. I am not going to compromise with road safety and people's lives. Question: Despite multiple efforts, road accidents have been on the rise. What is being done to address the problem? Nitin Gadkari: We haven't succeeded in curbing highway accidents as much as we wanted. This is our only dark area. Every year, there are 5 lakh accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths in India. The 18-34 age group accounts for 66 per cent of deaths. We made two rules: if there is any road accident and people take the victim to a hospital, then they will be called Rah-Veer and be awarded ₹25,000. Secondly, wherever the accident occurs (state road or NH), hospital expenses (up to ₹1.5 lakh) for first seven days will be borne by government. We did a study which showed that if people are rushed to the hospital immediately, then 50 per cent of lives will be saved. We also came up with a new order that if one buys a two-wheeler, then the company will give two helmets of ISI standard. We made six airbags mandatory in cars. In road engineering, detailed project reports (DPRs) made a lot of mistakes. We found black spots worth ₹40,000 crore. We are making improvements now. We have also decided to create tall dividers to avoid accidents as people jump and cross roads. We are also introducing road safety courses. But society needs to follow traffic rules. We are also working on creating air strips on roads to help accident victims by airlifting them from the site of accident, if needed. Question: The quality of road construction is questioned time and again. Where is the problem and how can it be fixed? Nitin Gadkari: Initially, I was building roads from concrete. But cement companies raised rate of concrete, and I moved to bitumen. Now, bitumen and water are not friendly and since our drains are not of good quality, holes come up on roads or broken patches develop. From now on, the drains will be precast. So, if water flows and does not lock up, there will be no damage to our roads. We are adopting the best practices available worldwide for developing our national highways. We have also made changes in detailed project report, aimed at attracting good people who may charge 4 per cent extra but not compromise with quality of construction. There is an earlier fault of mine that I am now trying to fix. There used to be 15-20 companies working with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and I felt they were making a cartel. So, I made technical and financial qualifications liberal. As a result, 350-400 companies qualified for road construction, but the quality got compromised. I shouldn't say this but where horses used to qualify, donkeys too became eligible to bid. So, I backed out and reversed my decision. Also, the earlier practice of awarding the project to the lowest bidder has been done away with and hopefully it will address the problem to some extent. Question: What are your views on welfare politics as many state governments have started announcing schemes before elections? Nitin Gadkari: This is a competition, but people have to decide. I am also a member of parliament, but I told my people, if you want to vote, you vote, if not, then don't. I will work regardless of whether you vote or not. We need to redefine the meaning of politics. Power politics is not politics. Working for the society is politics. My ambition is to work for society. I did not put up any posters but I still got votes. If you do good work, you get support. I tell my colleagues that people's trust and love is your political capital.
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First Post
3 minutes ago
- First Post
Military clash with Pakistan boosts India's defence business, govt aims to double arms exports by 2029
The four-day military clash between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor gives India's defence industry a push to export its weapon systems to international buyers. Here's how read more The next-generation BrahMos supersonic missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, is also on Brazil's radar.. Representational image: Wikimedia Commons India's defence industry is making a push into the overseas markets, just two months after it engaged in a 4-day military clash with Pakistan following the devastating Pahalgam terror attack. According to a Financial Times report, soon after the military escalation, the Indian government is seeking to boost its manufacturing by exporting home-made industrial products. These products range from mobile phones to missiles, and the endeavour is being undertaken under the ' Make in India' initiative. The push to export military equipment comes from both startups and established state-owned companies like BrahMos, whose missiles rocked Pakistan's military infrastructure during Operation Sindoor. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While speaking to the Financial Times, Vivek Mishra, chief executive of Raphe mPhibr, a drone start-up that raised $100mn in June, said that the push after Operation Sindoor came because 'if Indian forces are using systems in harsh terrains and they are happy with the performance, that becomes a validation for other countries as well.' Drones and weapon systems deployed during Operation Sindoor garner global attention The start-up's drones include swarm-capable, vertical take-off and landing mR10 and mR10-IC models, similar to the type deployed by India inside Pakistan, as New Delhi attacked nine terror camps in Pakistan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also explained how the global demand for Indian weapons has increased after Operation Sindoor. 'The global demand for our indigenous products has increased even more after the valour we showed and the capability demonstrated by our domestic equipment in Operation Sindoor,' Singh said at an event in New Delhi on July 8. According to the report, India is aiming to more than double its defence exports, reaching a figure of over Rs 500 billion ($5.8 billion) by 2029. In the past financial year, the export figure stood at Rs 236 billion, the Indian Defence Minister said. For years, India has been one of the world's largest arms importers, buying weaponry from the US, France, Israel, Russia, etc. However, the change in New Delhi's approach could also be due to its ambition to bolster its defence industry to rival that of China. 'The world saw a glimpse of 'Make in India' and indigenous weapon systems in Operation Sindoor,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a meeting in May in Kanpur, touted as the hub of the Indian defence industry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Domestic manufactured arms and BrahMos missiles caused massive destruction deep inside enemy territory,' he added. Back in 2014, it was the PM Modi-then administration that opened up India's defence industry to the private sector. Adani is among the leading conglomerates in the sector, alongside giants such as Tata, Mahindra, and Larsen & Toubro. 'Our drones became the eyes in the skies as well as the swords of attack, and our anti-drone systems helped protect our forces and citizens,' said Gautam Adani, group chair, at the company's annual shareholder meeting last month following the India-Pakistani military clash. What India is exporting A senior government official told the Financial Times that India exported BrahMos anti-ship missiles, which are made by an Indian-Russian joint venture, to the Philippines in 2022 for $375 million. The country is now in discussions to sell the weapon system to Vietnam and Indonesia. Apart from this, New Delhi will also be looking to market its Akash air defence systems, made by state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), and artillery guns to 'friendly foreign countries', the official told the Financial Times. 'We are not actively going around flogging any particular weapons," he added. Even before Operation Sindoor, India brokered other military deals involving state-owned companies. Some of them included the sale of four BEL-made Swathi weapon-locating radars made to Armenia for about $40mn that were deployed in the country's brief conflict with Azerbaijan that year. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since then, Armenia has bought Pinaka rockets and Akash air defence systems, bringing its arms purchases from India to nearly $60mn. All these exports are crucial for the Indian military, given its limited buying power. In light of this, defence groups in the country are optimistic about their prospects of venturing out in foreign markets.
Time of India
3 minutes ago
- Time of India
Who played the ‘band' for the ‘brand'?
Keshav Upadhye, a young, dynamic and prominent face, has been working with the Bharatiya Janata Party for over two decades. In 2014, the then state president Devendra Fadnavis had appointed Upadhye as the spokesperson in his team. Owing to his journalistic background and better understanding of the socio-economic issues of the state, Upadhye made a mark as a spokesperson in a short span. He articulates the views of the party and aggressively defends the party on various platforms including the Marathi and Hindi national news channels. Keshav Upadhye worked for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and after completing his degree in Journalism from Ranade Institute, Pune, he began his career as a journalist with daily Pudhari, Loksatta and Mumbai Tarun Bharat. Knowing the pulse of the news, he writes on varied topics and on various platforms like the newspapers, blogs and other social media platforms. He was involved in two study groups formed by the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini in 2006 to study the naxalite movement and its adverse impact on the development of Chhatisgarh. The Prabodhini later published this report. He was also a part of the Prabodhini's fact-finding committee formed to study the Solapur riots. LESS ... MORE Former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, recently stated in an interview given to his party mouthpiece that some bands are orchestrating to end the 'Thackeray brand'. UBT seems to have a great fondness for issuing sarcastic so-called quips. And only he believes his quips are sharp, meaningful, and clever. In pursuit of this habit, he has now paired the word 'brand' with 'band' attempting a play on words. Recently, during a unity gathering held in the name of Marathi pride, the same UBT made a rather baffling statement saying, 'Devendra Fadnavis lifted the wedding veil between us,' trying to imply a newfound closeness. However, this statement left many people stunned. To use such a metaphor at an event centered around Marathi identity and saying that the wedding curtain between the brothers has been lifted to describe political reconciliation, only demonstrated that UBT urgently needs a Marathi professor to guide their so-called linguistic enlightenment. Anyway, the main point is about this self-proclaimed 'brand' of UBT. The revered Balasaheb Thackeray was a truly iconic brand. This 'brand' was created due to the fearless, outspoken nature of Venerable Balasaheb and his attitude of never compromising with Hindutva. In the 1980s, Venerable Balasaheb strongly advocated Hindutva and expanded Shiv Sena's reach across Maharashtra. In the backdrop of all these incidents, such as the Ram Mandir movement, the Karseva in Ayodhya and the subsequent riots in Mumbai, and the 1993 bomb blasts, Venerable Balasaheb's 'brand' of fiery Hindutva rose to prominence. In the wake of this powerful brand, the false secularism of the Congress was thoroughly exposed. Hinduism was the common thread in the alliance between Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena. The fearless stand taken by Venerable Balasaheb during the Mumbai riots of 1992-1993 was revealed in the then issue of 'Saamana'. In 1995, the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government came to power. For the success of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, venerable Balasaheb had travelled across Maharashtra and created a stir through public meetings. Mr. Uddhav Rao became active in the organization built by his father with great effort after 1995-1996. While Venerable Balasaheb was fighting for the establishment of Shiv Sena and the just rights of the Marathi people, Uddhav Rao was not even active in Shiv Sena. In 2002-2003, Uddhav Rao took over the reins of the organization. Since then, Shiv Sena's influence began to wane. Balasaheb's 'Thackeray brand' was created because of his credibility. After 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the National Democratic Alliance. Many regional parties across the country participated in it. Balasaheb never obstructed the BJP leadership for power at the Centre. Once Balasaheb gave a word, he would not go back on it. Despite being a constituent party of the National Democratic Alliance in the 2007 and 2012 Presidential elections, Venerable Balasaheb publicly supported Mrs. Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee. Despite taking a stand against the Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance remained intact. This was because Balasaheb had very clearly conveyed his position regarding supporting Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee to the BJP leadership. When Venerable Balasaheb was alive, he sometimes had differences with the BJP leadership over the distribution of seats in elections. However, Balasaheb also had the policy of not escalating these differences until they were resolved. Against this backdrop, what do we see when we look at Uddhav Thackeray's political career? Since the 2004 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, all the party's elements have converged on UBT. From 1990 to 2004, BJP-Shiv Sena used to campaign jointly in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Workers of both parties used to hold joint rallies. Uddhav Thackeray stopped this practice and showed that he lacked political wisdom. Since then, the downward spiral of Shiv Sena began. In 2005, a figure like Narayan Rane decided to separate from Shiv Sena. In 2005, Raj Thackeray also left Shiv Sena. UBT was the reason for both of them leaving Shiv Sena. In 2009, under the leadership of UBT, Shiv Sena had contested more than 160 seats but had won only 44 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party had contested 117 seats and won 46 seats. In that election, UBT's Shiv Sena received 16 percent votes and the BJP 14 percent. After taking over the reins of Shiv Sena, Uddhav Rao had damaged the relations with the BJP leadership. Only out of respect for the venerable Balasaheb, the BJP leadership never spoke publicly about these issues. In 2014, UBT ended the long-standing alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections over 15-20 seats. He continued to criticize the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party in an indecent manner even after the alliance had ended. Despite tolerating this behavior, the BJP leadership, in the interest of Hindutva, extended a proposal for cooperation with the Shiv Sena. Accepting that proposal, Uddhav Thackeray joined the state government, yet continued to take a stance against both the BJP leadership and the central and state governments. Balasaheb never showed such double standards during his lifetime. That is why his 'Thackeray brand' had value. Despite contesting the elections together in 2019, UBT betrayed the Bharatiya Janata Party after the assembly elections and grabbed power in the state. UBT, under the illusion that this power would last a lifetime, had to give up the post of Chief Minister in two and a half years. Rather than anyone else orchestrating the band, it is UBT himself who will go down in history as the destroyer of the Thackeray. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
