Mumbai: The disconnect between what is taught in India’s universities and what the economy demands is hardly new. What is new, however, is the sharpness with which the Centre is now articulating the problem and the urgency it is attaching to fixing it.At the inauguration of the Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit on Saturday, higher education secretary Vineet Joshi offered a candid assessment of a system he suggested has not kept pace with the speed of change. Classrooms, he indicated, continue to operate in an academic time warp, where curricula often resemble what teachers themselves learnt years, even decades, ago. “The things which were changing over a period of 15 to 20 years, now they are changing in 15 to 20 months. Educators have to realise that,” said Joshi. His remarks point to a system under pressure to realign itself with a rapidly evolving knowledge economy. The ministry, Joshi indicated, is pushing for a more fundamental reset, one that goes beyond incremental updates to curricula and instead rethinks how knowledge is imparted, assessed and applied.Principal scientific advisor Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood underlined the role of deep-tech innovation in shaping India’s global competitiveness. He pointed to the need for stronger linkages between academia, research ecosystems and startups to drive cutting-edge technological development.IIT Bombay board chairman K Radhakrishnan urged startups to recognise their responsibility in shaping the country’s trajectory. “There is a thin line between national fame and national shame. Make India proud,” he said. Department of Science and Technology secretary Prof. Abhay Karandikar highlighted the pivotal role of premier institutions. “The IITs and IISC have a big role to play. This is an interesting time for startups. This summit not only addresses the country’s problems but also pushes us towards a globally competitive environment,” he said.
