‘Ram Rajya’, NEP, Sengol: What students will learn in NCERT in ‘Governance and Public Policy’ chapter

Chapter 4 – ‘Governance and Public Policy’ – calls NEP 2020 an excellent example of public policy, placing the same in its ‘Don’t miss out’ section. (AI image used for representation only)

According to the NCERT textbook on the social sciences for Class 9 students, ‘Ram Rajya’ is a part of the evolutionary process of “India’s understanding of governance”. The 153-page book that was released on Tuesday also features Central government schemes like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Khelo Bharat Niti, National Health Policy 2017, e-governance, Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), etc., among others.

The second part of the textbook, titled Understanding Society: India and Beyond, comprises topics on governance and public policy. In a departure from the earlier process of separate textbooks on history, political science, geography and economics, the new text dedicates one chapter each to history and political science.

Chapter 4 – ‘Governance and Public Policy’ – calls NEP 2020 an excellent example of public policy, placing the same in its ‘Don’t miss out’ section. It highlights the committee had experts from different fields, including education, science, technology, public administration and others.

“A unique feature of NEP 2020 was the large-scale public consultation…. During the formulation of the policy, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, 6,600 blocks, 6,000 urban local bodies and 676 districts were consulted and about 2 lakh suggestions were received. Several recommendations from citizens and institutions were incorporated before the final policy was prepared and approved by the Union Cabinet in 2020…,” reads an excerpt from the chapter.

It also throws light on the National Health Policy, its goal, programmes and schemes. The section ‘policy coordination’ cites Khelo Bharat Niti (launched in 2025) as aimed at transforming India’s sports landscape.

The book mentions schemes like Startup India, Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047 in the chapter ‘From ideas to start up’. Swachh Bharat Mission, Right to Education, PM Poshan, Digital India, Jal Jeevan etc, also find mention in the text.

On governance, NCERT cites examples from Chola dynasty, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Mundaka Upanishads and Kautilya’s Arthashastra. It reads: “India’s understanding of governance has evolved from ideas and values reflected in sabha and samiti, ‘Ram Rajya’ and ‘Rajdharma’ to modern democratic system based on Constitution and citizen participation.”

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“Mahatma Gandhi visualised an ideal model of governance as ‘Ram Rajya’. ‘Ram Rajya’ is rooted in the principles of probity, transparency, compassion, welfare and people centric orientation in governance and public policy,” it adds.

Upholding the Sengol as a cultural marker of rulership and good governance, the book says the tradition of using the sceptre as a mark of righteous governance began during the reign of the Chola dynasty. The Sengol was placed at the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023. The book also has a reference to Adheenam saints of Tamil Nadu presenting Jawaharlal Nehru with the Sengol “to mark the occasion of India’s independence”.

It talks about how Indian institutions continue to draw upon traditional ideas and values of governance and adapt them to needs of a modern democracy.