The two-day 21st FICCI Higher Education Summit, themed ‘Higher Education for a New World: Reform, Resilience and Relevance,’ began in New Delhi today with a special address by former Union Education (HRD) Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi.
Speaking on the importance of technological self-reliance, Dr Joshi said, “Technology sovereignty is the most important thing if you want to progress in the realm of science and technology.”
Alluding to artificial intelligence, Dr Joshi said India generates nearly 20 per cent of global data, but hosts only around 3 per cent of global data-centre capacity. This asymmetry, he said, leaves Indian researchers, start-ups and public institutions dependent on foreign computing infrastructure and platforms.
India, he noted, ranks among the top 10 countries globally in AI investment and stood third in the 2025 Global AI Vibrancy ranking. With 16 per cent of the world’s AI talent pool and more than 4 million IT professionals, India is “a powerhouse for AI implementation”, he said.
The country is also rapidly developing its own AI infrastructure, Dr Joshi said, with major investments in GPU-powered data centres aimed at reducing dependence on foreign AI models and computing platforms.
Dr Joshi cautioned against treating education as a purely technical exercise. Drawing on the Indian conception of the human being as comprising body, mind, intellect and soul, he said educational institutions must look beyond technological competence.
“Educational institutions must devise means to produce not just technologically competent individuals, but also ethical beings,” he said.
Society, he argued, faces a choice between creating “contented, creative people” and one in which people remain “busy in the mad race for accumulating more and more material stuff.”
Asked about student protests, the 92-year-old BJP veteran, whose tenure as HRD Minister saw the rollout of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, said legitimate student grievances should be addressed with understanding rather than force.
“Reasonable or legitimate demands of students should always be heard and should be heard with a great deal of sympathy. This method of using batons is not appropriate. You can never find a solution this way. If there are problems, listen to them. They are our children,” he said.
Dr Joshi also reiterated the need for an education system that seeks harmony among different dimensions of human development.
“The Indian education system believes in creating a world where all aspects of human development—material, intellectual and spiritual—are in harmony,” he said.
Earlier, opening the summit, Mr Anant Swarup, Secretary General, FICCI, said artificial intelligence was transforming the requirements of higher education at a pace that traditional curriculum processes could struggle to match.
“AI is changing what a graduate needs to know faster than any syllabus committee can meet,” he said. Higher-education enrolment has reached a record 4.5 crore students, Swarup said, but government alone cannot close the gap between the current gross enrolment ratio of around 30 per cent and the National Education Policy target of 50 per cent.
FICCI, he said, would take the recommendations emerging from the summit to the Ministry of Education and the higher-education regulators.
Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee and Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, described today’s students as “extremely smart, extremely talented, but very low on resilience.”
Prof (Dr) Padmakumar Nair, Co-Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee and Vice Chancellor, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, called for universities to balance compassion with excellence. “Compassion without excellence may become indulgence. Excellence without compassion can become exploitation,” he said.
In his special address, Dr R. Balasubramaniam, Member, NITI Aayog, said students today have numerous options but can sometimes develop what he described as “a delusion of competence” rather than actual competence. “If you are only giving qualifications, it is not useful. You have to give them competence,” he said.
He added that institutions themselves must remain adaptable if they are to produce resilient learners: “To make a learner resilient, your institutions have to be resilient and open to learning themselves.”
FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards
The inaugural session also saw the presentation of the 12th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards.
- University of the Year – Established: University of Mumbai (public institutions); Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (private institutions). Special Jury Recognition: Chanakya National Law University.
- University of the Year – Emerging: National Institute of Technology Meghalaya (public institutions); Presidency University, Bengaluru (private institutions).
- Excellence in Globalisation: Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Ashoka University, joint winners (private institutions). Special Jury Recognition: Rajarambapu Institute of Technology.
- Excellence in Creating Employment and Entrepreneurship: Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (public institutions); Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune (private institutions).
- Excellence in Institutional Social Responsibility: Parul University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Research and Innovation: Institute of Chemical Technology (public institutions); Pandit Deendayal Energy University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Financial Sustainability and Student Access: Ashoka University (private institutions).
- Excellence in AI and Digital Transformation in Teaching and Learning: Special Jury Recognition to Vishwakarma University, Manav Rachna University and Chandigarh University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Digital Transformation in Student Success: Gujarat Technological University (public institutions); Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (private institutions).
- Jury Choice Awards: Prof Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University — Personality of the Year Award 2026; Dr Ramdas M. Pai — Legendary Institution Builder Award; Prof Sudhir K. Jain — Lifetime Achievement Award 2026.
The event also saw the release of the FICCI–EY-Parthenon Report on AI Adoption in Indian Higher Education, examining the sector’s preparedness for the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence.
