Jammu & Kashmir

Global Teacher Prize 2026
Srinagar, February 27. Educator-social activist Rouble Nagi recently awarded the prestigious Global Teacher Prize 2026 of the London-based Varkey Foundation, announced that the $1 million (Rs.9.2 crore) prize money will be utilised to build a skills education and learning centre in Jammu.
A Jammu-born artist and social worker who was selected from among 5,000 nominees and applications received from 139 countries, Nagi was conferred the award at the World Government Summit staged in Dubai on February 5. “I want to open a high-quality institutional skills-cum-learning centre in Kashmir, where children, youth, and women learning at different places can come together under one umbrella,” said Nagi, addressing the media.
Previously, Nagi’s Mumbai-based Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has undertaken several initiatives for underprivileged households in the Union territory.

Karnataka

Girls green chemistry breakthrough
Bengaluru, February 28. On the occasion of National Science Day to celebrate ‘Women in Science Catalysing Viksit Bharat,’ the state’s Department of Science and Technology felicitated four high school girls of rural and tribal communities for breakthrough contributions in green chemistry research.
Their study titled ‘Green synthesis of saponin-capped copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and their efficacy in photocatalytic dye degradation,’ was conducted between March and August 2024 under the aegis of Anveshana, a fully-funded science research programme of Prayoga Institute of Education Research, Bengaluru and published in Sustainable Chemistry One World, a peer-reviewed, Scopus-indexed international journal of Elsevier.

Delhi

Microsoft’s Elevate Educators program
New Delhi, February 20. During a visit to a CM SHRI school, global technology giant Microsoft’s President Brad Smith launched ‘Elevate for Educators in India,’ an initiative designed to skill 2 million (20 lakh) teachers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2 lakh schools and education institutions by 2030. This unprecedented initiative is set to be scaled across all 75 CM SHRI schools in the national capital.
“As AI becomes part of everyday learning, we want to ensure it strengthens education, preserves human judgement, and earns the trust of educators and learners. By taking AI at this scale across India, we want to create new opportunities and deliver meaningful outcomes for teachers and students,” said Smith, speaking on the occasion.
This programme will be delivered in partnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) and state-level education and skilling ministries to provide equitable AI opportunities for 8 million students in school, vocational and higher education.

Mizoram

Experiential curriculum launch
Aizawl, February 14. The state government is all set to introduce a hands-on experiential curriculum in 770 state-run and aided schools statewide. It is also planning to introduce standardised annual exams for classes V and VIII students who will be required to answer competency-based questions.
“This initiative is designed to reform and modernise the state’s education system in line with the National Curriculum Framework 2023 and the National Education Policy 2020. New textbooks will also be issued from the start of the academic year 2026-27 for classes I, II, III and VI,” said Caroline Zoramthangi, Director of the State Council for Educational Research & Training (SCERT).

Maharashtra

First public skills university
Pune, February 25. The Ratan Tata Maharashtra State Skill University (RT-MSSU, estb.2022), the state’s first public skills university, has launched specialised postgrad and undergrad degree programmes including M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, M.Sc in Business Analytics, and B.Sc in Data Analytics.
The degree programmes include mandatory on-the-job training and partnerships with corporates. Operating from campuses in Pune, Navi Mumbai (Kharghar) and Thane, the university has developed a 60:40 practicals-to-theory model supported by India’s first academia-industry AI Living Lab. Under this model, students will receive an industry-aligned curriculum, hands-on training, and internship opportunities.
The Lab is an Indo-German initiative supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and several German corporates.