Top educationists, ministers to attend RSS-backed Gyan Sabha in Kerala next week; Mohan Bhagwat to speak on NEP
The conference, titled 'Gyan Sabha', will be held from July 25 to 28, and will focus on the theme 'Education for a Developed India'. A key highlight will be an address by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on July 27, where he is expected to speak on the theme of Indianisation in education and the broader implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Representatives from leading spiritual and academic institutions such as the Gayatri Pariwar, Art of Living, Ramakrishna Mission, Chinmaya Mission, and the Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhan Kendra will also take part in the four-day event.
Announcing the event at a press conference in Delhi on Friday, Atul Kothari, national secretary of the Nyas, said the purpose of the conference is to explore how education in India can become more value-based, India-centric and knowledge-oriented. 'The aim is not to oppose Western knowledge systems but to ensure Indian students remain rooted in their traditions, culture and knowledge,' he said.
The first two days of the conclave (July 25–26) will comprise a closed-door 'Chintan Baithak', where selected participants will deliberate on issues related to the Indianisation of curriculum, promotion of Indian languages, moral education, and integration of traditional knowledge systems. The concluding day, July 28, will feature a larger open session focused on policy discussions and collaboration.
This is the first time such a large educational event by the Nyas is being held in Kerala, the home state of Adi Shankaracharya, whose birthplace in Kalady is steeped in spiritual and philosophical legacy.
The Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas was established in 2007 as an extension of the Shiksha Bachao Andolan, and has since emerged as the RSS's principal platform for educational outreach. It has been involved in promoting value-based education, textbook reforms, and the revival of Indian knowledge systems, including running teacher training programmes, publishing supplementary material for schools, and lobbying for greater space for Indian languages and moral education in classrooms.
The Gyan Sabha is seen as a significant step in the Nyas's long-standing efforts to shape a national academic vision aligned with Indian civilisational values, in line with the policy thrust of the NEP.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Indian fuel exports escape Trump's tariff net, no Russian penalty yet
India's exports of petroleum products such as diesel and jet fuel to the U.S. continue to be exempted from the levy of any import duty or tariff, and President Donald Trump has, for now, not indicated the penalty he plans to impose to deter New Delhi's energy trade with Russia. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump had announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on India, along with an additional penalty, citing concerns over the country's energy and defence ties with Russia, as well as existing trade barriers. However, the executive order he signed thereafter only gives effect to the 25% tariff on Indian goods coming to the U.S. Even this has an exclusion list that includes finished pharmaceutical products (tablets, injectables and syrups), active pharmaceutical ingredients, electronics and ICT goods (semiconductors, smartphones, SSDs and computers), and petroleum products (crude oil, LNG, refined fuels, electricity and coal). The executive order also does not indicate any penalty that is to be levied for Russian trade. According to official data, India exported 4.86 million tonnes of petroleum products to the U.S. in fiscal year 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025) for over $4 billion. Reliance Industries Ltd is the biggest exporter of fuel to the U.S. With fuel exports continuing to be on the exemption list, it means business as usual for India and companies like Reliance, analysts said. Also, a relief would be if no penalty is imposed to punish India for its oil imports from Russia, they said, adding that for now, the U.S. administration has not indicated any penalty. "For now, there is nothing but you never know," an analyst said. From just 0.2% before the Russia-Ukraine war to now accounting for 35-40% of total crude imports, India's reliance on Russian oil has surged — drawing fresh scrutiny with Mr. Trump announcing a penalty on top of a 25% tariff, or tax, on all goods going to the U.S. India historically bought most of its oil from the Middle East, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. However, things changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the U.S., began snapping up Russian oil that was available at a discount after some in the West shunned it as a means to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. From a market share of just 0.2% in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia overtook Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India's No.1 supplier, with a share as high as 40% at one point of time. This month, Russia supplied 36% of all crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel, that India imported. Announcing the imposition of 25% tariff or tax on all Indian goods going to the U.S., Mr. Trump had said New Delhi "always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE." "India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above (Russian purchases), starting on August First," he said in a post on social media. India bought 68,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia in January 2022, according to global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler. That month, Indian imports from Iraq were 1.23 million bpd and 883,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia. In June 2022, Russia overtook Iraq to become India's largest oil supplier. That month, it supplied 1.12 million bpd as compared to 993,000 bpd that came from Iraq and 695,000 bpd from Saudi Arabia. Russian imports peaked to 2.15 million bpd in May 2023 and have varied since then, depending on the discount at which the oil was available. But the volumes never slipped below 1.4 million bpd, which is more than what India was buying from its top supplier Iraq before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In July, imports from Russia averaged 1.8 million bpd, almost double of 950,000 bpd imports from Iraq. Saudi imports stood at 630,000 bpd, according to Kpler. After the Ukraine war, Western energy sanctions against Russia pushed it to cut prices for those buyers still willing to purchase its crude. The discounts on Russia's flagship Urals crude to Brent — the world's most well-known benchmark — were as high as $40 per barrel at one point but have been trimmed since to less than $ 3. G7 countries in December 2022 imposed a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude. Under the mechanism, European companies were permitted to transport and insure shipments of Russian oil to third countries as long as it is sold below the capped price — an effort to limit the impact of the sanctions on global oil flows but ensure Russia earns less from the trade. Last month, the European Union decided to lower the price cap to $47.6 and introduced an automatic and dynamic mechanism for its review in the future. The idea is to keep the cap at 15% lower than the average market price. In addition to stoking India's economy, cheap Russian oil gave refiners lucrative business — refining that crude and exporting the products to deficit countries. These included the European Union, which had banned direct crude oil purchases from Russia. This month, the European Union decided to ban the import of refined oil produced from Russian crude.
New Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
India slams UK parliamentary report on ‘Transnational Repression' as baseless, cites dubious sources
NEW DELHI: India on Friday strongly rejected a British parliamentary panel's report that accused it of engaging in "transnational repression' within the United Kingdom, calling the allegations baseless and rooted in anti-India propaganda. 'We have seen the references to India in the report and categorically reject these baseless allegations,' said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a strong rebuttal. The UK report, published by a parliamentary committee, had cited India among several countries allegedly involved in targeting dissidents abroad. However, New Delhi dismissed the credibility of the report, asserting that its claims were based on 'unverified and dubious sources.' 'These claims stem from unverified and dubious sources, predominantly linked to proscribed entities and individuals with a clear, documented history of anti-India hostility,' Jaiswal said. 'The deliberate reliance on discredited sources calls into question the credibility of the report itself.'
The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Letters to The Editor — August 2, 2025
Misplaced remark U.S. President Donald Trump's remark, calling India a 'dead economy', is both inaccurate and disappointing, especially when leading global institutions continue to recognise India as among the fastest-growing major economies. That the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have all projected India's economic stability is a clear indication of economic vitality, not decline. With a young and dynamic population — in sharp contrast to aging demographics and slowing growth in many advanced economies, India's demographic strength, combined with prudent macroeconomic policies and digital advancement, positions it as a key driver of future global growth. Mr. Trump's comments appear to be politically charged rather than fact-based. Rukma Sharma, Jalandhar, Punjab What is odious is that Mr. Trump did not stop with just announcing tariffs. He has revived the U.S's old myopic game of trying to maintain a geo-political strategic balance in South Asia by supporting Pakistan, India's war-happy neighbour. One cannot but notice the fact that Mr Trump has been upping the ante against India ever since it successfully carried out post-Pahalgam retaliatory strikes against Pakistan's terror infrastructure. That India proved its military prowess with minimum collateral damage and the use of indigenous armaments has not gone down well with the Trump administration. Nalini Vijayaraghavan, Thiruvananthapuram The cartoon (Inside pages, 'On the draw' August 1), on Mr. Trump's decision, may be a correct portrayal. The U.S. President is publicity savvy and wants to take the credit when it comes to all major global events. He wants the Nobel Prize and has shamelessly expressed his desire. He is just another politician and not a statesman. Imposing shockingly high tariffs will hurt the business of the exporters to the United States of America, which will, in turn, affect the economies of many countries. Mr. Trump does not care one bit about the sufferings of others. He is whimsical, which is a bad trait for anyone in power. Here is an elected leader who is an example of how one should not be. V. Lakshmanan, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu One cannot help notice these contrasts — ISRO and NASA have successfully launched their NISAR satellite into orbit, which highlights the power of science and cooperation, but the U.S. President seems intent on giving pinpricks to India and the Indian government. One wonders how things will play out. Dhanaraj S., Bodinayakanur, Tamil Nadu The debate in Parliament The parliamentary debate on Operation Sindoor unfolded as expected, with few surprises. The ruling party remained determined to portray the operation as an unqualified success, while key questions raised by the Opposition were left unanswered. Vital issues deserving serious deliberation such as Mr. Trump's repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire, and the alarming security lapses in Pahalgam were largely ignored. From the outset, the ruling party's reluctance to engage in a substantive debate was unmistakable. Repeated references to events under the past dispensation did little more than deflect attention from the core concerns. One can only hope that future parliamentary discussions will rise above partisan posturing and offer genuine, meaningful exchanges. V. Nagarajan, Chennai Civic responsibility India-Bangladesh relations may be strained but there are areas of policy in that country which may be worth considering in India. I recently came across a video on YouTube, on an organisation called BD Clean ( It is a platform of 50,000 volunteers who work with the aim of ensuring a clean Bangladesh and bringing about a change in mentality in the disposal of garbage. The transformation in the country has been spectacular with heavily polluted areas undergoing remarkable transformations. It is an idea that is worth emulating in Indian cities and towns. V. Subramaniam, Chennai
