While the course is taught in English and has some traces of modern theories, it primarily relies on the tenets of Indian philosophy derived in Sanskrit from Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Samkhya Karika, Upanishads with references from the Bhagavad Gita, say sources from IIM Lucknow.

Indian Philosophy

Indian philosophy predates Thales of Miletus, who is regarded as the first Greek philosopher and the creator of western philosophy, by at least a millennium.

Course

The course is 15 hours long, and currently running its fourth year. In the current academic year, the elective is running in both the Lucknow campus for the core MBA programme and at the Noida campus for Working Executives MBA programme, say sources from IIM Lucknow.

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The course is created and floated by Professor Anadi Pande, who was motivated to introduce this curriculum to students in order to help them manage themselves better, reducing stress, anxiety and amongst other things to enhance focus and improve quality of mind, say sources from IIM Lucknow.

Values from scriptures

Speaking about the increasing stress in students in the recent years, and how the values from scriptures can help them in a stress-free learning, Prof. Anadi Pande, Course coordinator, and Professor, Strategic Management, IIM Lucknow said we live in a highly globalized, dynamic, and changeable world, with surfeit of information, intense competition, the acronym BANI aptly sums up its characteristics.

Samkya, Yoga and Vedanta enable us to connect with our true nature, achieve peace and have a focused mind, said Prof Pande of IIM Lucknow.

A superior mind is a tremendous instrument which can not only de-stress, improve our psychosomatic condition but enable us find innovative solutions to challenges in our work place and the material world, said Prof Pande of IIM Lucknow.

Conviction

In order to strengthen the conviction of the students, the course is not a mere teaching of India’s prized scriptures. Professor Pande rather, bridges the old adages with contemporary research and medical evidence on theories of consciousness.

This way, students can see the real-life implications of such teachings. The curriculum also serves to sensitise students to the ideas of ethical action, which may be of use when they embark on the corporate world.

One of the primary objectives of this programme is to equip students with skills and ethics that promote organizational well-being and ideal corporate citizenship. The theory of Karma is also an important part of this course, say sources from IIM Lucknow.

Indian Philosophy

The course targets Indian philosophy and its three dominant systems, namely, Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta. It also grazes over concepts and theories around ethics, which may perhaps serve as an inspiration for one’s conduct in life.

Various Sanskrit sutras are also recited and discussed in the classroom, to help students feel more connected to Indian philosophy. It was given the ‘Best Non-Conventional Course’ Award by MBA students of IIM Lucknow in 2022-23.

Leaders

Highlighting how this course will help students in becoming better leaders, Prof. Pande of IIM Lucknow added hierarchy of organizations is hierarchy of minds.

And where this principle is violated, the organization suffers. Achieving Samadhan which is the essence of Indian philosophy and its ethics, means ability to harmonize multiple perspectives in a solution that resolves all conflicts, said Prof Pande of IIM Lucknow.

Such a competence is an extremely prized, inalienable skill of a leader. The journey to inculcate the competence of samadhan necessarily goes through building emotional intelligence and resilience, said Prof Pande.

‘Indian philosophy is a highly rational and practical philosophy. What is good for spirituality is very valuable for sustainable material success as well.’

The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) has identified research as a corequisite for outstanding education and development in our country. The establishment of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation by the Government of India was a step in this direction, said the Cabinet while making an announcement. A total of nearly Rs 6,000 crore has been sanctioned for the initiative for 3 calendar years, 2025, 2026, and 2027 as a new central sector scheme.”.

This initiative will benefit nearly 1.8 crore students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines. The top quality journals will also be accessible to tier 2 and tier 3 cities with an objective to encourage core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country.

As many as 30 international journal publishers have been included in One Nation One Subscription. Now, each of the nearly 13,000 e-journals will be accessible to more than 6,300 government Higher Education Institutions and central government R&D institutions, it said.

The journals will be made available through a national subscription coordinated by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous inter-university centre of the of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in an entirely digital process, it informed.

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The education ministry and other ministries having higher education institutions (HEIs) and research and research and development (R&D) institutions will be conducting Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns regarding the initiative and the methods to access the ONOS.

Further, the state government will be directed to carry out campaigns at their level for maximizing usage of the facility by students, faculty and researchers of all government institutions.

Conclusion

One of the most significant initiatives made to transform the landscape of research and education in India is the One Nation One Subscription initiative, which will provide access to over 13,000 e-journals across 6,300 institutions to empower researchers, faculty, and students to engage in high-quality, interdisciplinary research. Built on a strong foundation of the National Education Policy and with a deep investment of Rs 6,000 crore, this effort promises to elevate India’s global academic and research standing into the remotest tier-2 and tier-3 cities.