AICTE to Establish 11 'Indovation' Centres to Work on Indian Knowledge System Projects
Taking a step beyond innovation and venturing into what is now referred to as "indovation," the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is gearing up to establish eleven centers nationwide dedicated to the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) projects, which have become the cornerstone of the government's new education policy, as stated by officials. These centers will replace the regional offices of the council, which were responsible for the approval process of higher education institutions in their respective areas. Since much of their work has been digitalized and centralized at the headquarters, the focus in these centers will now shift towards indovation and incubation.
The proposed indovation centers will be strategically located in eleven cities, namely Kanpur, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Baroda, Kolkata, and Guwahati. Their primary purpose will be to conduct research on various IKS projects, including the validation of ancient theories, verification of old texts, and translations, among other endeavors, as highlighted by a senior official.
This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which underscores the incorporation of Indian knowledge into higher education curricula. In pursuit of this goal, the Ministry of Education (MoE) established an IKS division under AICTE. Additionally, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued guidelines on IKS, mandating the promotion of research and instruction at all education levels, and the development of new undergraduate and postgraduate courses focusing on Indian knowledge.
The recent IKS guidelines, released in April, recognize the significance of ancient Indian texts like the Vedas and Puranas, allowing students to earn credits under the National Credit Framework (NCrF) for studying them. In essence, IKS is now given equal credit status alongside other fields like sports, performing arts, traditional skills, and social work with high impact.
The IKS tradition comprises 18 major vidyas, or theoretical disciplines, and 64 kalas, which include applied sciences, vocational disciplines, and crafts. Among the vidyas are the four Vedas, four subsidiary Vedas (Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gandharvaveda, and Shilpa), Purana, Nyaya, Mimamsa, Dharmsastra, and Vedanga, along with six auxiliary sciences. All of these subjects formed the foundation of the 18 sciences in ancient India.
To further IKS research and outreach, the Ministry's higher education department has already established 13 IKS centers across the country, covering a wide range of subjects, including science, engineering, technology, health and wellness through disciplines like ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, psychology, linguistics, phonetics, and epistemology.