What to Read in The Hindu Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1: India’s educational transformation — the true picture

Context

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was created after wide public discussions and is one of India's most inclusive policy decisions. It aims to transform education and bring a new era of learning and innovation.

 

Introduction

Some believe India’s education system has declined in the last 11 years under Modi’s government, but this is untrue. Previous governments neglected education, leaving the system outdated. While other nations modernized education, India remained stuck with an old policy from 1986, barely updated in 1992. This was due to a colonial mindset and resistance to technological change.

 

What past policy was like

Key Issues

• Corruption & Governance Deficit
  1. Public universities suffered from fund shortages.
  2. Unregulated private institutions turned into degree mills.
  3. 2009 Deemed University scandal:
     • 44 private institutions granted university status without proper evaluation.
     • Many involved in financial irregularities.
• Political Interference
  1. Education bodies (UGC & AICTE) controlled rather than promoted excellence.
  2. University leadership appointments based on political loyalty.
• Distorted Historical Narratives
  1. Textbooks downplayed revolutionaries like:
     • Shaheed Bhagat Singh
     • Chandra Shekhar Azad
     • Veer Savarkar
  2. Foreign invasions were portrayed with bias.
  3. India’s cultural and intellectual traditions were marginalized.

Issue	Impact
Corruption in Education	Poor funding, rise of degree mills
Political Interference	Leadership based on loyalty, not merit
Biased Textbooks	Historical distortion, cultural neglect

 

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: A Transformational Shift

• Breaks away from past issues with a new vision for education.
• Formulated through extensive democratic consultations.
• Built on 5 Pillars:
  1. Access
  2. Equity
  3. Quality
  4. Affordability
  5. Accountability
• A policy for the people, by the people, and for the future.

 

The focus is empowerment and change

Key Objectives and Transformative Impact of NEP 2020

1. Addressing Structural Inequities
   • Eliminates rigid, elitist education models to promote inclusivity.
   • Significant increase in higher education enrolment among marginalized groups:

Category	Increase in Enrolment (Since 2014-15)
Scheduled Castes (SC)	50%
Scheduled Tribes (ST)	75%
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	54%

 

2. Women’s Empowerment in Education
   • Female enrolment has risen by 38.8%, reaching 2.18 crore (2022-23).
   • Muslim minority female enrolment has surged by 57.5%.
   • PhD enrolment among women has increased by 135%.
   • Women in STEMM fields now make up 43%, breaking traditional gender barriers.
   • Female teachers now 44.23% of the workforce (up from 38.6% in 2014), reshaping academic leadership.
3. Increased Government Investment in Education
   • Per-child government expenditure:
   • ₹10,780 (2013-14) → ₹25,043 (2021-22) (130% increase).
   • Focus on:
   • Early childhood education.
   • Foundational learning & numeracy.
   • Modern infrastructure & pedagogy in government schools.
   • Lower dropout rates & improved pupil-teacher ratio.
4. Futuristic and Innovative Reforms
   • Introduction of coding from middle school.
   • Multidisciplinary problem-solving approaches.
   • Innovation hubs in rural areas.
   • Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs):
   • 10,000+ operational ATLs fostering grassroots innovation.
   • 50,000 more ATLs planned with broadband connectivity in schools over the next five years.
5. Strengthening Higher Education & Research
   • Financial independence for universities through sustainable revenue models.
   • Global rankings improvement:
   • 11 Indian universities in QS World Rankings top 500.
   • Research & Innovation Growth:
   • 88% increase in research publications since 2015.
   • India’s Global Innovation Index rank: 76 (2014) → 39 (present).
   • Anusandhan-National Research Foundation fostering industry-academia collaboration.
   • These reforms signal a bold transformation in India's education system, ensuring inclusive growth, innovation, and global competitiveness.

 

Language primacy

Key Reforms in NEP 2020: Language, Social Justice, and Future Vision

1. Promoting Indian Languages & Knowledge Systems
   • Shift from ‘English-first’ to multilingual education.
   • Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Initiative:
   • Adopted by 8,000+ higher education institutions.
   • Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Yojana:
   • 15,000 original & translated textbooks in 22 Indian languages.
   • Empowers students to learn & express in their mother tongues.

Initiative	Impact
IKS Curriculum	8,000+ institutions adopting Indian knowledge systems
Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Yojana	15,000 books in 22 languages for wider accessibility

 

2. Strengthening Social Justice in Education
   • Reservation in Teaching Positions (Central Educational Institutions Act, 2019):
   • Ensures fair representation of SCs, STs, and OBCs.
   • Treats entire institution as one unit, replacing the flawed department-wise approach.
   • Elimination of Discriminatory Recruitment Practices:
   • The "None Found Suitable" practice abolished.
   • Unfilled reserved posts no longer converted to general category.
   • Ensures meaningful implementation of reservation policies.

Reform	Impact
Institution as One Unit (2019 Act)	Fairer distribution of reserved teaching posts
Abolition of "None Found Suitable"	Ensures SC/ST/OBC candidates get rightful posts

 

3. Vision for the Future: ‘Viksit Bharat’
   • Education as a tool for true empowerment & liberation.
   • Breaking free from colonial influence & ideological biases.
   • Aiming for an ‘Educational Renaissance’—balancing heritage with modernization.
   • Positioning India as a global leader in education & development.
   • NEP 2020 is more than just a policy change—it is intellectual decolonization, ensuring India’s rise as a knowledge powerhouse among developed nations.

 

Conclusion

The National Education Policy 2020 marks a historic shift in India's educational landscape, prioritizing equity, quality, and inclusivity. It has significantly improved enrolment, research, and infrastructure while promoting Indian languages and knowledge systems. With its futuristic vision and focus on empowerment, NEP 2020 sets the stage for an educational renaissance, ensuring India’s intellectual and economic growth in the coming decades.

Editorial 2: Tackling the disinformation threat in India

Context

This challenge extends beyond technology; it tests our shared democratic values and jeopardizes our collective capacity to uphold truth, unity, and equality.

 

Introduction

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risks Report 2025 highlights misinformation and disinformation as the biggest short-term global threat. According to the WEF, a "global risk" is an event that can harm a large number of people, the world economy, or natural resources. The fast growth of AI-generated content, biased algorithms, and deep social divisions are making it increasingly difficult to tell truth from falsehood.

 

Information disorder

Internet Growth and Rising Risks

• India is set to exceed 900 million Internet users.
• Without strong policies, the country will be highly vulnerable to disinformation.
• India’s diverse political and social landscape makes it a prime target for:
  1. Manipulated narratives
  2. Voter influence
  3. Economic disruption

Beyond Politics: The Widespread Impact

• Disinformation doesn’t just affect politics—it fuels:
  1. Consumer boycotts
  2. Economic conflicts
  3. International tensions

Declining Trust in Traditional Media

• Public trust in legacy media is declining.
• Political actors and non-state entities exploit this gap to spread propaganda.
• As trust in mainstream media fades, citizens are turning to social media for news.

Concern	Impact
Decline in media trust	More reliance on social media for news
Social media influence	People forward unverified information, assuming it's true if received from friends or family
Lack of regulations	Manipulated narratives spread unchecked

 

Global Warnings & Need for Policy Action

• Joe Biden has warned of an emerging “tech oligarchy”.
• India, the world’s largest democracy, must act quickly.
• The European Union’s Digital Services Act serves as a model for regulating disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

 

Disinformation and Political Exploitation in India

• Political disinformation is escalating:
  1. National parties and politicians actively share deep fakes and false information.
  2. A study by the Indian School of Business & CyberPeace Foundation found:

Category	% of Disinformation
Political content	46%
General issues	33.6%
Religious content	16.8%

• Foreign threats:
  1. China has consistently spread disinformation about India since the 2017 Doklam standoff.
  2. Platforms like Weibo actively propagate distorted narratives.
  3. India responded by banning over 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok, to curb foreign influence.
• Future Risks & The Role of Social Media Platforms
  1. If Meta ends fact-checking partnerships, as seen in the U.S., disinformation risks could skyrocket.
  2. A recent survey report revealed that India’s youth are increasingly vulnerable to false information.

Risk Perception	High-Income Nations	Lower-Income Nations
Disinformation Concern	Higher	Lower (with some exceptions)

• The Urgency for Public Awareness
  1. If Indian citizens fail to recognize how disinformation fuels political and societal divides, the consequences could be severe.
  2. The democratic and social fabric of India is at stake.

 

Recommendations from the Global Risks Report 2025

Key Measures to Combat Disinformation

• Upskilling Developers
  1. Focus on enhancing skills for developers working with algorithms.
• Improving Public Awareness
  1. Promote digital literacy and public awareness on misinformation.
• Ensuring Accountability
  1. Set up supervisory boards and AI councils to oversee Generative AI practices.
• India's Role in Tackling Disinformation
  1. Election Fact-Checking Initiatives
     • Shakti – India Election Fact-Checking Collective and the Deepfake Analysis Unit were key in tackling disinformation during the 2024 general elections.

Platform	Users in India
Facebook	400 million
WhatsApp	500 million

1. India is the largest market for social media platforms, which can be leveraged to push big tech companiestowards positive policy changes.
2. Regulatory bodies can push for audits and transparency actions for Very Large Online Platforms (over 45 million users), similar to the EU's Digital Services Act.

 

Challenges and Risks

• Potential Risks of Surveillance
  1. There is a risk that ill-intentioned policies could escalate surveillance, threatening democratic safeguards.
  2. Both censorship and surveillance are highlighted as global risks in the WEF report.

Risk	Impact
Censorship	Erosion of freedom of speech
Surveillance	Threat to privacy and democracy

 

Policy and Implementation Suggestions

• Regular Risk Assessment
  1. Platforms should be mandated to perform regular risk assessments.
• Cybersecurity Research
  1. Allocate adequate funding for cybersecurity research and innovation.
• Content Moderation
  1. Implement transparent content moderation policies to combat misleading content that threatens public health, safety, or democracy.
  2. Strict enforcement of non-discrimination rules.

Policy	Action Needed
Online Ads Disclosure	Disclose funding sources and target audiences to prevent malicious influence.
Public Awareness Initiatives	Expand initiatives like the RBI’s Financial Literacy Campaign with Amitabh Bachchan to foster critical thinking and societal resilience.

• Collaboration and Research
  1. Collaborate with civil society groups, fact-checkers, and regulators to create evidence-based policies for information integrity.
  2. Establish a support system for independent research on disinformation and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).
• Legal Protections
  1. Implement stronger laws to protect journalists from threats related to disinformation.
• Global Cooperation on Disinformation:
  1. Cross-Border Coalitions
     • Establish cross-border coalitions for a coordinated global response to disinformation.

 

Conclusion

This challenge is more than just a technology issue—it is a test of our shared democratic values and a threat to our ability to protect truth, unity, and equality. As the world’s largest democracy, India must lead by example, showing strength and diversity in an increasingly divided digital world. The real challenge is not just fighting false information, but also making sure we preserve our unity in diversity.