Autonomy on Paper, Autonomy in Practice: Examining the Enablers and Barriers to Reproductive Choice in India

Authors : Mannat Siwach , Siddhant Pandey , Priyanshi Jha , Mishka Singh , Tarandeep Kaur , Rajnish Katare

ABSTRACT

Artificial Intelligence, as a disruptive force, is bringing unprecedented changes in the skills and competencies required for a graduate to become employable in today’s day and age; however, India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has come forward as a framework for strengthening higher education through the inclusion of multidisciplinary learning, skill development, practical exposure, and increasing alignment with industry requirements. This paper examines whether these strategies remain sufficiently responsive to an evolving AIdriven labour market. The study employs a mixed-method approach, combining a review of existing literature with primary questionnaire-based research. On the survey responses of students and professionals, the study applies descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, percentages, and mean scores to assess perceptions of implementation, AI readiness, and emerging skill requirements. Further, it uses a thematic analysis to compare the emerging patterns with themes identified in the literature. The findings indicate that although NEP 2020 provides a relevant framework for developing multidisciplinary and future-oriented competencies, gaps remain between its intended provisions and students’ practical exposure to AI-related skills, industry requirements, and employability preparation, suggesting that the policy is conceptually relevant but insufficiently aligned with emerging AI-era requirements. The study recommends increased emphasis on effective policy implementation and a shift in the core framework towards AI literacy, upskilling and greater integration of digital and data capabilities within higher education.

Keywords
National Education Policy 2020, Employability, AI Literacy, Multidisciplinary Learning, Higher Education, Future-ready Skills

Authors : Pushpa Akshaya Miriyala , Armaan Sareen , Shravani Tharanath

Abstract :

India’s flagship welfare schemes – Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) and POSHAN Abhiyaan, represent landmark commitments to rural housing provisioning and nutritional security respectively. Yet persistent gap separates the administrative growth outputs with substantive development outcomes. This paper undertakes a qualitative output-versus- outcome analysis of both schemes, interrogating structural gaps between quantitative delivery metrics – houses sanctioned, anganwadi coverage, beneficiaries enrolled and lived realities of human capability enhancement. The study critically examines how implementation accuracy, convergence deficits, workforce vacancies, community level absorption mediate the translation of output impact to welfare impact. Data from NFHS-4&5 trends, CAG audit observations, POSHAN tracker data bring a systemic mark: output saturation co-existing with outcome stagnation. The paper argues for realigned evaluation that centres nutritional security and housing quality as primary indices of scheme effectiveness over mere physical completion rates.

KEYWORDS :

Maternal Morbidity, Open Defecation (ODF), Aspirational Districts, Anganwadi Health Workers (AHW), Take Home Rations, Growth Monitoring Promotion Sessions.

Authors : Saba Suhail Khan , Ankita Hansda , Fathima Thamanna PP , Barnali Roy

Abstract

Internationalisation of higher education has become increasingly connected with international student mobility, migration and labour-market policy. This study examines how Germany and the Netherlands responded to these developments. Although both countries operate within a shared European higher education and migration environment, their policy responses have developed in different directions. A similar system design was used to compare these two cases. The analysis draws on a corpus of 37 legislative, parliamentary and policy documents and combines descriptive statistics, text-as-data analysis and critical discourse analysis based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework. Policy documents were examined across four broad policy orientations; attraction, management, retention and labour and fourteen related policy instruments. The comparison shows that Germany has developed a comparatively expansive approach to internationalisation. International students are increasingly viewed not only as participants in higher education but also as a potential source of skilled labour in response to demographic change and workforce shortages. The Netherlands has followed a more managed and selective approach. While the academic and economic value of internationalisation continues to be recognised, greater attention has been given to housing pressures, institutional capacity, language and access for domestic students. These differences suggest that the policy divide cannot be reduced to a simple distinction between open and restrictive systems. Instead, national responses reflect different combinations of labour-market needs, demographic pressures, institutional capacity and domestic social priorities. The study highlights the need for internationalisation policies that balance educational openness with sustainable institutional capacity, labour-market needs and broader social considerations.

Keywords:
Transnational Educational Migration, International Student Mobility, Internationalisation of Higher Education, Comparative Policy Analysis, Policy Divergence, Policy Discourse, Germany, The Netherlands.