4 months ago
1
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan connected Tuesday (January 13, 2026) called for premier technological institutions crossed India to travel nether the Centre’s nationalist accreditation framework. Mr. Pradhan was speaking astatine the 13th gathering of the Council of National Institutes of Technology, Science Education, and Research (NITSER), with a absorption connected aligning curricula with nationalist priorities. The discussions besides revolved astir “360 grade PhD reforms”.
“Our program indispensable beryllium aligned to nationalist priorities. Our PhD programmes indispensable beryllium industry-centric,” the Minister said, suggesting industry-led program committees for preparing curricula based connected caller and emerging occupation roles and 21st period needs.
The NITSER is the ultimate governing assembly of the 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs); the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) astatine Shibpur, West Bengal; and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs).
At the gathering of the Council successful New Delhi, Mr. Pradhan emphasised the request for apical technological institutes of the state to beryllium brought nether the nationalist accreditation framework, besides noting that the NITs and IIESTs were “poised to service arsenic vibrant hubs of applied acquisition research, innovation, and future-ready workforce development”.
A connection from the authorities said that each NITs and IISERs would implicit their outer adjacent reappraisal successful 1 year, and agreed connected “the value of accreditation arsenic a cardinal prime assurance mechanics — with the institutions resolving to actively enactment successful the nationalist accreditation model (the National Assessment and Accreditation Council oregon NAAC)”.
While apical technological institutes look successful antithetic nationalist and planetary ranking frameworks, often rather high, institutions specified arsenic the Indian Institutes of Techonology (IITs) and respective NITs bash not person accreditation from the NAAC.
“Reviewed presentations connected elevating world and probe standards, enhancing governance ratio and further boosting innovation and entrepreneurship astatine our NITs and IIESTs. Also, discussed the mode forward,” Mr. Pradhan said successful a station connected societal media.
The gathering of the Council discussed assorted measures suggested implicit the curriculum, innovation astatine the institutes, and the promotion of “inclusivity done the usage of Bharatiya Bhashas and adopting artificial quality for multilingual learning”, according to a connection from the Education Ministry.
The Ministry said that the Council discussed aligning the curricula, assessment, and world programmes and probe with captious and emerging technologies, including, “Industry 4.0, greenish hydrogen, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, information analytics, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, and semiconductors”. Specialised postgraduate oregon M.Tech programmes aligned with circumstantial manufacture requirements were besides discussed.
The gathering besides spoke of “360 grade PhD reforms”, which would see “industry-led and industry-funded PhDs”, “product-based PhDs”, and “PhD duty to module based connected their performance”, according to the government’s statement.
At the meeting, determination was a telephone for mounting up incubation centres astatine 13 NITs that bash not yet person one, on with the telephone for 10 NITs to “immediately acceptable up” probe parks, and program for a pitching conclave to beryllium held successful July this twelvemonth for start-ups incubated successful NITs successful collaboration with investors and manufacture stakeholders.
The gathering of the NITSER was attended by apical officials of the authorities from the Education Ministry, the Science and Technology Ministry, Directors of apical exertion and subject probe institutes crossed the country, on with Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, Executive Committee of the NAAC, and erstwhile University Grants Commission Chairperson Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar.
