Parliament Question: Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Liberal Arts Education

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3493 ANSWERED ON-10/08/2026 Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Liberal Arts Education

3493. Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the rapid spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has created the need for liberal arts education to evolve towards an interdisciplinary learning combining technology awareness, ethics, creativity and critical inquiry;

(b) if so, the details of the steps taken by the Government to align the reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 with liberal arts curricula by incorporating computational literacy, AI ethics, communication skills, social sciences and problem-solving competencies in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs);

(c) the extent to which universities supported by the Government have introduced interdisciplinary liberal arts programmes integrating humanities with data sciences, digital studies and emerging technologies during the last five years; and

(d) whether any national academic framework is being developed by the Government for preparing liberal arts graduates for AI-augmented workplaces and if so, the features envisaged thereunder? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a) to (d): The Government of India has framed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 with an aim to promote holistic, multidisciplinary, and student-centric education. NEP 2020 envisions transformation of higher education institutions into large multidisciplinary universities, colleges, and HEI clusters to enable students to become well-rounded across disciplines including artistic, creative, and analytic subjects. It also aims for technical education to be offered within multidisciplinary education institutions and programmes, with a focus on cutting-edge areas, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analysis, and machine learning.

In alignment with the vision of NEP 2020, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued “Guidelines for Transforming Higher Education Institutions into MultidisciplinaryInstitutions”. The guidelines aim to strengthen institutional infrastructure necessary for multidisciplinary education and transform single-stream institutions into large multidisciplinary universities and autonomous degree-awarding HEIs. As reported in AISHE 2023-24, more than 500 Universities and over 5000 affiliated colleges offer multidisciplinary academic programmes.

Further, The University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified “SOP for Operationalisation of National Credit Framework (NCrF) in Higher Education” as a practical guide for implementation of NCrF. The SOP allows up to 50% of the total credits for a program to be earned from the skill-based courses in emerging technologies including for students of liberal arts. As reported in AISHE 2023-24, more than 700 Universities and over 7500 affiliated colleges have adopted NCrF.

UGC has also notified “Credit Framework for Online Learning Courses through SWAYAM Regulations”. The regulation allows up to 40% of the total courses in a semester through the SWAYAM online platform. SWAYAM online platform has over 140 free AI-related courses, curated by premier institutions such as the IITs, IISc among others. So far, more than 50 lakh students have enrolled in these courses.

The Government has also launched Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme for all learners including liberal arts students. SOAR is a structured skill development initiative designed to build personal, professional and workplace readiness among learners. It strengthens essential competencies such as critical thinking, digital literacy and behavioural skills through curated modules. The programme equips participants with capabilities needed to perform effectively in technology-driven work environments.

Further, the Government of India implements the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) aimed at funding specific State government universities and colleges, so as to improve their quality by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms and standards. The scheme envisages improvement in access, equity and excellence in State Higher Education system through support under various components viz., Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU), Grants to Strengthen Universities (GSU), and Grants to Strengthen Colleges (GSC) etc.

Under the Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU) component of PM-USHA, 35 Universities have been approved for a total amount of Rs. 100 crore each.

MERU funding is provided to universities for undertaking 44 mandatory activities aimed at enhancing access, equity and excellence in education including clustering and resource sharing between MERUs; between constituent colleges within each MERU; and training to develop 21st-century skills etc.

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