The controversy over the now-withdrawn Class 8 social science textbook with a chapter on judicial corruption has highlighted inadequacies of the three-stage process followed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to approve new books that align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.. The row suggests gaps in the functioning of the 19-member apex National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC), which is expected to sign-off on the new books. (Photo for representation) (HT_PRINT). Also read: No entry or exit: Trains skip Pink line station on Delhi’s first ‘ring’ metro. It also suggests gaps in the functioning of the 19-member apex National Syllabus and Teaching-Learning Material Committee (NSTC), which is expected to sign-off on the new books. HT’s reporting shows that the members did not explicitly approve the book, with many ignoring the draft of the text that was sent to them over WhatsApp and e-mail. It also shows that the section on judicial corruption in one of the chapters was explicitly flagged to the committee.. The preparation of the new textbooks in line with the National Curriculum Framework- School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 follows a three-stage process.. Also read: 10 Indians arrested in US for staged armed robberies to claim immigration benefits. The first stage involves the Textbook Development Team or TDT –– a separate one for each subject in each class.. This is made up of experts and forms the core group writing a textbook. In its affidavit to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, NCERT said the chapter on ‘The Role of Judiciary in Our Society’ was drafted by the relevant TDT, comprising professor Michel Danino, Suparna Diwakar, and legal researcher and lawyer Alok Prasanna Kumar.. The second stage has the subject-wise Curricular Area Groups (CAGs). These oversee the TDTs and handle textbooks of several classes. Professor Danino also heads the CAG for various social sciences textbooks.. The third stage has NSTC which identifies experts and contributors for TDT and then gives final academic approval to new books, following which NCERT publishes and distributes the textbook.. According to the book development process, each chapter of a NCERT textbook is written by contributors and is finalised by the CAG of that particular subject. The draft of the chapters in the controversial social sciences textbook was placed before the 35-member CAG of social science in a hybrid meeting in September 2025 for finalisation before it could be presented to NSTC, HT learns.. “This meeting was attended by NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani, along with other NCERT officials including those who happen to be members of the NSTC. Several members of the 13-member National Oversight Committee (NOC) whose job it is to ensure the book sticks to the curriculum framework, also attended the meeting,” a NCERT official said on condition of anonymity. “Saklani and few others raised concerns and obj 

 A chartered plane arranged by Iran took off from Kochi for Armenia late on Friday carrying most of the crew of the Iranian warship IRIS Lavan that docked at the Kerala port last week, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.. IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4 and its 183-member crew was accommodated at naval facilities. The special charter flight is also carrying the bodies of Iranian sailors who were killed when another warship, IRIS Dena, was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine near Sri Lanka on March 4, the people said on condition of anonymity.. Also read: Trump says US struck Iran’s ‘crown jewel’ Kharg Island, warns Tehran against Hormuz blockade. The Lavan’s crew and the bodies of sailors from the Dena will be transported to Iran by road, these people said.. The Iranian side is repatriating the non-essential members of the 183-strong crew of IRIS Lavan, while a limited number of crew members will stay back to maintain the warship, the people said.. The chartered flight, likely from Turkey, travelled to Colombo to pick up the bodies of sailors killed during the sinking of IRIS Dena, the people said.. Also read: Iran allows 2 Indian-flagged LPG carriers to cross Strait of Hormuz. Reports in the Sri Lankan media said 45 bodies of crew members of IRIS Dena were transported from Galle National Hospital to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport for the airlift.. Sri Lankan authorities recovered the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors after IRIS Dena was sunk. They also rescued 32 crew members who have been kept at a naval facility.. IRIS Dena had participated in an International Fleet Review and a multi-nation exercise hosted by the Indian Navy last month.. On March 1, India granted permission to three Iranian warships that were in regional waters – IRIS Dena, IRIS Lavan and IRIS Booshehr – to dock at the country’s ports in response to a request from Tehran. However, only IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4 and its 183-member crew was accommodated at naval facilities.. External affairs minister S Jaishankar has said that the Indian government’s decision to allow IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi was “the right thing to do”, and that the decision was made on humanitarian grounds.. IRIS Booshehr docked in Colombo and its 204-member crew was sent to a Sri Lankan naval facility, while IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine in international waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.. Sri Lankan authorities and officials of the Iranian embassy in Colombo are engaged in discussions regarding the next steps for the Iranian sailors currently in Sri Lanka’s care. The Sri Lankan government has decided to grant one-month free visas to the Iranian sailors and to provide them necessary facilities on humanitarian grounds. 

 India remains somewhat insulated from the energy crisis set off by the ongoing war in West Asia largely due to steps the government took over the last decade to diversify the country’s energy imports, officials aware of the matter said on Friday, adding that several other countries have been hit by shortages and rising prices.. The government has taken steps to protect India’s supply chains by safeguarding exports and ensuring uninterrupted imports of essential commodities (Representative photo). “India has worked to change its energy source mix while strongly promoting domestically generated renewable energy. If this crisis had hit India a decade ago, the impact would have been devastating because almost all our oil and gas came from the same volatile region, with no real alternatives in place,” one of the cited officials said on condition of anonymity.. To be sure, the government has taken steps to protect India’s supply chains by safeguarding exports and ensuring uninterrupted imports of essential commodities such as energy, fertilisers and edible oils from all available sources — including Russia — so that domestic consumers do not face shortages.. “Other countries are struggling. Japan, already burdened by record-high public debt, has become one of the most vulnerable economies. The UK has seen immediate price spikes leading to renewed inflation. Egypt and Turkey are facing fresh inflationary pressures. Singapore is dealing with sharp increases in electricity and petrol costs, while South Korea has resorted to imposing a fuel price cap for the first time in nearly three decades to stabilise its economy,” said a second official, who also asked not to be named.. Oil prices have remained volatile, keeping the global energy market on the edge since US forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28. At the centre of global concern lies the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical chokepoint, through which nearly one-fifth of global crude oil passes. The strait is vital for India’s energy supplies, but the current situation looks manageable, the officials added.. In a statement in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said, “It should be noted that India was previously importing approximately 60% of its LPG requirements from Gulf countries such as Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait and 40% is produced domestically. Procurement has now been actively diversified, with cargoes being secured from the United States, Norway, Canada, Algeria, and Russia, in addition to available Gulf sources.” 

 Iran has allowed two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers to ​sail through the ​Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials said on Friday, a development expected to ease a ​cooking gas crisis ​in India.. FILE PHOTO: Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in UAE on March 11 (REUTERS). “The vessels have been permitted to move through the Strait of Hormuz,” said a person who declined to be identified, without giving details.. The move came hours after phone conversations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian – their first since the start of the Iran-US conflict – and external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.. Modi said he had discussed the “safety and security of Indian citizens” and the “need for uninterrupted flow of goods and energy” with Pezeshkian, describing them as India’s top priorities.. Earlier on Friday, Iranian ambassador Mohammad Fathali indicated that Indian vessels would be granted safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that transports nearly 50% of India’s oil imports.. “We believe that Iran and India are friends. We have common interests, we have a common fate,” Fathali told reporters when he was asked if Indian vessels would be allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz.. “The Government of India, in this situation after the war, helped us in different fields,” he said, adding that positive developments regarding transit through the crucial waterway were expected in “two or three hours”.. People familiar with the matter said the Indian side continues to be in touch with Iran regarding safe passage for some two dozen Indian-flagged vessels currently located west of the Strait of Hormuz.. In a separate development, a crude tanker is expected to arrive in India on Saturday, carrying Saudi Arabian oil after sailing through the strait, people said. 

 The forging of a common position within Brics on the Iran-US conflict has been impacted as some members of the grouping are involved in developments in West Asia, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.. Jaishankar and Iran FM Araghchi discuss Brics cooperation. Iranian foreign minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi had emphasised the role of Brics, currently led by India, in playing a constructive role to support security and stability in the region during a phone call with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday night.. External affairs minister S Jaishankar told a media briefing on Friday that India is talking to all Brics members on the situation in West Asia “so that a consensus position can be evolved”.. The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that hurdles have arisen in these discussions as some members of Brics are “directly involved” in the situation in West Asia.. Also Read: Jaishankar, Iran FM discuss Brics role in regional security amid West Asia conflict. “This has impacted the forging of a consensus on a common Brics position on the ongoing conflict,” a person said.. Besides Iran, which joined Brics in January 2024, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also indirectly involved in the conflict.. The people said India, as the chair of Brics, has been facilitating discussions among members of the grouping through the Sherpa channel. The last virtual Brics Sherpa meeting was held on March 12, they said.. In addition, India’s leadership has been engaging with the leaders of Brics members in the region, the people said. India will continue these engagements, they said.. Brics has so far not issued any statement on the developments in West Asia. India is expected to host the Brics Summit in the third quarter of this year.