What should real change look like? Simply adding a coding class or distributing tablets in schools is not education reform. For genuine transformation, three fundamental changes are essential. First, the single-exam-based system must be abolished. Both China and the United States, in their own ways, are moving evaluation toward continuous and multidimensional assessments spread throughout the entire educational journey. India too should shift from a make-or-break single-day exam to multiple evaluation opportunities, secure digital proctoring, and portfolio-based assessments of students’ actual skills. This would reduce the benefits of cheating and lower the cost of any single paper leak. Second, AI literacy must be made a core part of the curriculum, not an optional add-on. Like in China, the use of AI, understanding its limitations, fact-checking, and critical evaluation should be taught from the early grades. If this doesn’t happen, AI will become a new divide between rich and poor students in India, where affluent families are already giving their children an extra edge through coaching. Third, and most importantly, the mindset that confines education to preparation for limited government jobs must change. Every year, millions of youth chase the same few secure jobs, whose numbers aren’t growing. Instead, skill-based vocational education, industry-linked apprenticeship programs, and flexible systems for re-education or skill acquisition at any stage of life will be far more crucial. If India squanders this opportunity Using tear gas on students cannot be justified in any situation. At the same time, impartial investigations and accountability for incidents like paper leaks are also essential. But if the response to this entire movement is limited to just ousting a minister or introducing new anti-cheating software, India will squander its “historic moment for the Gen Z generation” on superficial reforms. Meanwhile, China is forging ahead in transforming an entire generation into an AI-enabled workforce, while the United States continues to give its private sector the freedom to experiment. The students who have embraced calling themselves “cockroaches” are not just demanding fair exams. They are raising the fundamental question of whether, in today’s world reshaped by artificial intelligence, it is still fair to have a system where one exam, one chance, and ultimately limited secure jobs are the sole purpose of the entire educationβwhile the whole world is being transformed by artificial intelligence. India must not just give them better exams, but rebuild the entire education system.
Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation means the cockroaches are right: India doesn’t need better exams, but a new education system
For the past several weeks, New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has been filled with youth. They call themselves the “Cockroach People’s Party”βa name once used as an insult, but which they have turned into a symbol of their identity and resistance. Their movement isn’t against just one leaked question paper; it’s against the entire education system.
The NEET exam was canceled and re-conducted following allegations of a paper leak. Irregularities were also alleged in CBSE’s on-screen evaluation system. Over the past decade, there have been more than a hundred paper leak incidents, affecting the futures of millions of students. Tear gas was fired at teenagers peacefully protesting with the Constitution in hand. This scene alone should be signal enough for policymakers that this isn’t mere anger over administrative lapsesβit’s a generation’s rebellion against a system built on rote memorization, a single day’s exam, and promises of limited government jobs.
The central government’s first response will likely be the same again: a new proctoring system to prevent leaks, a more secure question bank, or the exit of a few officials. But that would be the biggest mistake. These protests are just symptoms; the disease runs much deeper.
India’s exam culture is still a relic of that industrial age, when a single exam, on a single day, with a single result could determine a young person’s entire life. Yet today’s economy demands jobs that seek adaptability, decision-making skills, and the ability to work with AI toolsβnone of which are tested for, nor systematically taught.
If India wants to understand what the education of the future should look like, it must carefully examine the diverse models emerging around the world.
Two Models, One Crossroads
China has embraced AI not as an elective subject, but as the foundation of its education infrastructure. Under its national “AI+ Education” initiative, launched as part of the 15th Five-Year Plan in 2026, AI literacy becomes mandatory from primary school onward, with a goal of developing a fully integrated AI education system by 2030.
This isn’t just policyβit’s ground reality. By the end of 2025, Beijing claimed that nearly 88 percent of its schools had begun using AI. In cities like Shenzhen, students receive at least one AI-focused lesson every month. In a Beijing secondary school, AI analyzes weeks of homework and quizzes to identify students’ weaknesses and generates personalized practice exercises, which teachers refine and implement.
China’s stated goal isn’t for students to blindly trust AI, but to learn to use it like a co-pilotβa tool whose advice they scrutinize, verify, and challenge when necessary.
In contrast, America has taken a more decentralized, market-driven path. It’s promoting AI research at the federal level, industry-education partnerships, and teacher training, but implementation varies across states and districts.
In America, the debate around AI in education remains largely defensive, focused on catching cheating and maintaining academic integrity. A uniform national strategy for teaching AI as a life skill hasn’t yet materialized.
The strength of this model is its flexibility and freedom for innovation, but its biggest weakness is that it widens the gap between resource-rich and resource-poor schools.
India, for now, isn’t moving in either direction. Here, an “exam industry” has taken root, where high-stakes tests like NEET, JEE, and UPSC have become gateways to limited opportunities. A massive coaching industry has sprung up around them, extracting a heavy financial toll from families so their children can prepare for that one day’s exam.
βIndia’s Power Sector Game Changer has Arrived!!
“Thermal-mimic” FDRE RTC (firm and dispatchable renewable energy, round-the-clock) power is now available in India at Rs 5.25/kWh ($55/MWh) – flat for 25 years!!
Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited’s FDRE RTC results were just announced.
Key specifications: 90% during peak hours, 50% during solar-hours, and 70% during non-peak, non-solar hours – every single day, enforced at every 15-minute interval. Exactly how a thermal plant would operate.
This is a big deal for two reasons:
- Incredibly competitive price – among the lowest in the world.
- But the more interesting part is that the price is flat and inflation-proof!
The chart shows actual average generation cost for every new coal plant commissioned in India since 2015 β about 39 GW. That fleet’s average cost has gone from roughly Rs 4.2/kWh ($45/MWh) in 2016 to Rs 5.3/kWh ($56/MWh) in 2025, with some newer plants costing significantly above that number.
If that trend continues at even a tapering rate after 2035, new coal would average about Rs 8.6/kWh ($90/MWh) by 2050.
The green line is the Thermal-mimic clean power at Rs 5.25/kWh, and it doesn’t move. Fixed in nominal Rupees for 25 years!!
That means clean firm power is already brushing up against coal prices, before accounting for fuel price volatility or carbon risk.
The question isn’t whether clean power can be firm and competitive. It’s both.β
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s village tours and night chaupals are commendable efforts to connect directly with the people and listen to their concerns. This builds trust and a positive atmosphere in the villages. However, the true success of this initiative will depend on its administrative follow-through, not just its optics.
Currently, the discussions at these chaupals tend to be lengthy and scattered, with people raising political demands, questions related to government schemes, and everyday grievances all at once. This makes it difficult to arrive at clear and timely decisions on critical issues. Therefore, it is essential that, before every chaupal, the district administration prepares a clear and concise summary of all pending complaints from towns and villages and submits it to the Chief Minister in advance. This way, the Chief Minister will be able to make well-considered and correct decisions rather than reacting on the spot.
Additionally, the discussions at the chaupals should be divided into separate groups, such as dedicated time slots for women, farmers, youth, and service recipients. This will allow each group’s concerns to be heard attentively and without the chaos of overcrowding.
An Action Taken Report should be issued within 48 hours of every chaupal, so that people can see what steps have been taken on their issues. This will base public trust not just on the Chief Minister’s presence, but on timely and concrete solutions.
After the βΉ100 Crore Waste on the Seven Wonders at Ajmerβs Ana Sagar Wetland, Is βΉ5,000 Crore Now at Stake on the Elevated Road Over Jaipurβs Dravyavati River?
The Seven Wonders Park built in Ajmerβs Ana Sagar Wetland cost approximately βΉ100 crore, and it had to be removed following a court order. Now, in Jaipur, a project for a nearly 35β36 kilometer-long elevated corridor along the Dravyavati River, costing around βΉ5,000 crore, is being advanced. For this, the JDA has awarded a βΉ5.08 crore contract to Monarch Surveyors to prepare the DPR.
The most important point is that the tender document itself states that the project must not violate NGT guidelines and should not adversely affect the natural flow of floods. This makes it clear that the JDA is fully aware of the legal and environmental sensitivities of this project.
Yet the question arises: When the Supreme Court and various judicial decisions have consistently adopted an extremely cautious stance regarding permanent construction in catchment areas and floodplains, why is a new βΉ5,000 crore project being proposed in such an area?
The Dravyavati River itself is already the subject of judicial disputes. The βΉ1,676 crore Dravyavati River Rejuvenation Project is under the supervision of the Rajasthan High Court. In 2024, the Jaipur Bench had clearly stated that βthe right to live in a clean environment is a fundamental rightβ and directed the JDA to submit regular compliance reports. Additionally, the dispute over whether the land for the river embankment is government or private is still pending in court. In such a situation, initiating a new elevated road project in the same disputed corridor raises several new legal questions.
In M.C. Mehta vs. Kamal Nath (1997), the Supreme Court recognized the Public Trust Doctrine and stated that the state does not own rivers, forests, and other natural resources but holds them as a trustee, and they cannot be arbitrarily altered in the name of development projects.
Similarly, the NGT has consistently reiterated in various casesβYamnuna (Manoj Mishra case), Ganga, Mansi River, and the recent Panjra River caseβthat construction in floodplains cannot be justified merely on the grounds of βpublic interestβ or βpublic utility.β
In the context of the Wetland Rules, 2017, and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, it is also a crucial question whether environmental clearance will be mandatory for such a large linear infrastructure project.
The Seven Wonders Park case is an important example in this context. In 2023, the NGT ordered the removal of the park on the grounds of wetland and master plan violations. The state government argued in the Supreme Court that crores of rupees had already been spent on the project, so it should be allowed to remain. But on March 18, 2025, the Supreme Court rejected this argument and clearly stated that the destruction of the wetland is akin to βinviting disaster.β Ultimately, the entire structure had to be demolished in September 2025.
In such a scenario, it is natural to question whether the government is once again preparing to spend thousands of crores on a project carrying similar legal risks? If the court issues an adverse decision on this project in the future, who will bear the financial and environmental responsibility?
Jaipur’s Government Land Worth βΉ1000 Crore Exposed in Settlement Fraud Scandal!
The Rajasthan government has itself approached the High Court regarding the 23,600 square yards of prime land right opposite World Trade Park (WTP) on JLN Marg, with allegations that JDA officials colluded to keep the government in the dark. What is the case? In 2003, this land was allotted to Green Fire Hospital Pvt. Ltd. at a concessional rate to build a multi-specialty hospital. In 2015, the allotment was canceled due to violation of conditions, and the money was also refunded. But in 2023, a sudden “settlement” took place, and the National Lok Adalat passed such an award that revived the already canceled allotment. 17,433 square yards of land back to Green Fire Hospital 6,200 square yards of land to Jai Jawan Grih Nirman Sahakari Samiti and Ratan Prabha Jain Government’s Allegations No approval from the Cabinet was taken The UDH department was not informed No authorized representative of the government was involved in the agreement The government claims that the then JDA Commissioner and Zone-4 DC had no legal authority to enter into such an agreement, yet private parties were directly benefited. The shocking part is that the Lok Adalat did not even verify whether the necessary parties (especially the state government) were involved in the agreement or not. How did the government get wind of it? In 2026, when Green Fire Hospital filed a contempt petition for non-compliance with the award, that’s when the government dug into the records, and the entire game came to light. Allegations are that information about pending cases was concealed, incomplete facts were presented, and efforts were made to suppress the investigation by hastily withdrawing the JDA Tribunal case. The High Court has ordered the preservation of all records. The joint hearing of the contempt petition, both public interest litigations, and related cases is scheduled for July 20.
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