NCERT names new English, Economics textbook committees for Classes 11, 12

The NCERT has constituted two committees to develop Economics and English textbooks for Classes 11 and 12. A September 8 notification named Saket Bahuguna, a former ABVP national media convenor, among the 17 members of the English committee, headed by N. Nagaraju, Vice-Chancellor of EFLU, Hyderabad. PM-EAC member Sanjeev Sanyal heads the 14-member Economics committee, which includes Shamika Ravi. Deadlines: Class 11 by November 30, 2026, Class 12 by September 30, 2027, Economics by February 28, 2027.

Written by AI from The Hindu — National · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 16 Sept 2026, 4:52 am IST

Source

The Hindu — National · read the original report ↗

#ncert#textbooks#abvp#school education#pm-eac

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

NCERT constituted committees to develop Economics and English textbooks for Classes 11 and 12. — Attributed to an NCERT notification issued on September 8 quoted in the source.
Saket Bahuguna, Assistant Professor at the Central Institute of Hindi, Delhi, is among the 17 members of the English committee and is a former ABVP national media convenor. — Named in the source; his ABVP role is stated by the reporter without a cited document.
Sanjeev Sanyal heads the 14-member Economics committee and Shamika Ravi is also a member; both are PM-EAC members. — Figure and names appear in the source, attributed to NCERT.
English committee to finish Class 11 work by November 30, 2026 and Class 12 by September 30, 2027; Economics committee by February 28, 2027. — Attributed in the source to NCERT director Dinesh Saklani via the notification.
An earlier Political Science textbook committee had at least four members with direct or indirect RSS links. — Unattributed assertion in the source; no supporting source given.

Written by AI from The Hindu — National · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Policy Analyst

On paper this is routine curriculum machinery — NCERT constituting expert panels to write new Class 11 and 12 textbooks. But the composition is what carries the policy signal: an English panel that includes a former ABVP national media convenor, and an Economics panel chaired by a PM-EAC member, coming after objections raised over the earlier Political Science committee, will invite claims of a pattern. The counter-read is equally available: panels built around vice-chancellors, academics, a former school department head and policy economists are not unusual, and the real test will be the quality of the drafts.

How a textbook committee is constituted is itself the substantive policy decision, yet the notification as reported does not spell out selection criteria or transparency safeguards.
Cross-cutting mandates such as cultural rootedness and Indian knowledge systems align with the broader national education policy direction, but translating them into English literature and Economics is the hard implementation question.
Placing serving PM-EAC members at the centre of the Economics panel brings real policy experience, while also raising the fair question of whether one official economic lens dominates the syllabus.
Staggered deadlines from November 2026 to September 2027, followed by an NCERT review, allow for a deliberative process — provided teacher training and assessment design move in parallel.
Given the contestation around recent textbook revisions, opening drafts to public consultation could be NCERT's cheapest credibility win.

What to watch — Watch whether the draft chapters and the review stage are made public, and how state boards and teachers' bodies respond.

The story does not establish that members' past affiliations will shape the content, nor does it detail the selection process or the full membership of either panel.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 7 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is preparing new senior secondary textbooks aligned to revised curriculum priorities, including themes such as Indian knowledge systems and cultural rootedness. It has now constituted two panels — one for English Language and Literature and one for Economics — for Classes 11 and 12. The appointments have drawn attention because they include a former national media convenor of the RSS-affiliated ABVP and two members of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. This follows an earlier NCERT Political Science textbook committee in which at least four members had direct or indirect links to the RSS.

Key facts

NCERT notification of September 8 constituted an English Language and Literature Textbooks Committee of 17 members for Classes 11 and 12.
The English committee is headed by N. Nagaraju, Vice-Chancellor of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad.
Saket Bahuguna, Assistant Professor (Linguistics) at the Central Institute of Hindi, Delhi, and former ABVP national media convenor, is on the English panel.
The English panel also includes Trivikrama Kumari Jamwal, former Head of English at The Shri Ram School Aravali, Gurugram, and a member of the erstwhile Mewar royal family.
Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC), heads the 14-member Economics textbooks committee; PM-EAC member Shamika Ravi is also on it.
English textbook deadlines: Class 11 by November 30, 2026 and Class 12 by September 30, 2027, per NCERT director Dinesh Saklani's notification.
The Economics textbook committee is to complete its work by February 28, 2027.
NCERT's earlier Political Science textbook committee for senior secondary classes had at least four members with direct or indirect links to the RSS.

Timeline

February 2016Saket Bahuguna was a central ABVP face during the JNU protests, clashing with left-wing groups over an event on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
2017Trivikrama Kumari Jamwal's brother wrote to PM Narendra Modi on the family's behalf seeking to withhold certification and release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati'.
Earlier (date not stated in the source)NCERT announced a Political Science textbook committee for senior secondary classes with at least four members linked directly or indirectly to the RSS.
September 8NCERT issued the notification constituting the English and Economics textbook committees for Classes 11 and 12.
November 30, 2026Deadline for the English committee's Class 11 work.
February 28, 2027Deadline for the Economics textbook committee to complete its work.
September 30, 2027Deadline for the English committee's Class 12 work.

Who has a stake

NCERT — Constitutes the committees, sets deadlines and will review draft manuscripts; its credibility on academic neutrality is in question.
Dinesh Saklani, NCERT director — Issued the notification specifying committee composition and completion timelines.
Committee heads (N. Nagaraju, EFLU; Sanjeev Sanyal, PM-EAC) — Responsible for delivering English and Economics textbooks incorporating prescribed cross-cutting themes.
Class 11 and 12 students and teachers — Will study and teach the resulting English and Economics textbooks.
ABVP/RSS-linked appointees and critics — Appointments raise contested questions of ideological influence over curriculum content.
Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council members — Two of its members (Sanyal, Ravi) now shape school Economics content, linking policy advice and curriculum.

Why it matters

School textbooks shape how millions of students understand language, literature and the economy, so who writes them is a matter of public interest. The presence of a former ABVP office-bearer and serving PM-EAC members, following a Political Science panel with RSS-linked members, revives the debate over ideological influence on curriculum-making. The stated brief to integrate cultural rootedness and Indian knowledge systems will determine the content students read into 2027 and beyond.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

NCERT constituted a 17-member English Language and Literature committee and a 14-member Economics committee for Classes 11 and 12 (notification of September 8).
N. Nagaraju, Vice-Chancellor of EFLU Hyderabad, heads the English textbook committee.
Sanjeev Sanyal (PM-EAC) heads the Economics committee; Shamika Ravi (PM-EAC) is a member.
Dinesh Saklani is the NCERT director named in the notification.
Deadlines: English Class 11 – November 30, 2026; English Class 12 – September 30, 2027; Economics – February 28, 2027.
Cross-cutting themes prescribed: equity and inclusion, age-appropriate pedagogy, value education, ICT, Indian knowledge systems, environmental education.

Mains framing

The constitution of NCERT's English and Economics textbook committees for Classes 11 and 12 renews a long-running debate on the autonomy of curriculum bodies. The immediate trigger is composition: a former ABVP national media convenor on the 17-member English panel, an appointee associated with a family that opposed the release of 'Padmavati', and two serving PM-EAC members leading and sitting on the 14-member Economics panel — coming after a Political Science committee in which at least four members had RSS links. Supporters can argue that the mandate to embed cultural rootedness, Indian knowledge systems, inclusion, value education, ICT and environmental education needs subject experts with a stake in these themes, and that NCERT retains a review stage over draft manuscripts. Critics see a pattern in which ideological affiliation, rather than only pedagogical expertise, becomes a criterion for curriculum authorship, risking contested content in disciplines like Economics and English that require plural interpretation. The way forward lies in transparency about selection criteria, disclosure of committee members' academic credentials, wider consultation with teachers and subject associations, and a robust, publicly visible peer-review of drafts before the 2026 and 2027 deadlines.

Key terms

NCERT: National Council of Educational Research and Training, the body that frames school curriculum and develops textbooks.
ABVP: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS-affiliated student organisation; Saket Bahuguna was its national media convenor.
PM-EAC: Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council; its members Sanjeev Sanyal and Shamika Ravi are on the Economics textbook committee.
EFLU: English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, whose Vice-Chancellor N. Nagaraju heads the English committee.
Indian knowledge systems: A cross-cutting theme NCERT wants integrated into the new textbooks, along with cultural rootedness and inclusion.
Curriculum Area Groups: NCERT groups that prescribe cross-cutting themes such as equity, value education, ICT and environmental education for textbooks.

Practice questions

Discuss the implications of the composition of textbook-writing committees for the academic autonomy of bodies like NCERT.
Examine how cross-cutting themes such as 'Indian knowledge systems' and 'cultural rootedness' can be integrated into school textbooks without compromising disciplinary rigour.
What institutional safeguards can ensure transparency and plurality in curriculum and textbook development in India?

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

Next storyUS military destroys two small Iranian boats off Iran's coast →

← All stories