Zee Conclave: Industry experts discuss digital innovations to boost standard of Indian education

The Edufuture Excellence Awards was conducted for the second time on Today by Zee Digital, the Zee Group's digital media publishing arm. The first panel discussion focused on the topic, "Taking Indian education to a global standard." Sushant S Mohan, Digital Editor of Zee Media, moderated the session. Bani Paintal Dhawan, Head of Education, India and South Asia, Google Cloud India Pvt. Ltd; Himanshu Rai, Director at IIM Indore; and Divya Arora, Former National Director, AFS Intercultural Program, India engaged in the discussion.

How the standard of education in India is rising?

Bani Paintal stated that India has been at the forefront of a lot of innovation, and that if you look inside Google, you will find many India-originated professionals, including CEO Sundar Pichai. She emphasised that the cloud has provided a platform to the extent that there is access to equal education, excellent learning, and the possibility to generate new ideas through didgital. "Future is here," she added.
Himashu Rai discussed the 'frugal innovations' that majorly originate in rural India. He noted how India is today viewed not only as a market/consumer hub, but also as a resource/talent powerhouse.

Google innovations to improve India's educational standards

Bani emphasised Google's creativity, saying that platforms have been created for innovation, to simplify technology and give users in a scalable and affordable manner, such as Google Cloud, Google Classroom, and so on. Google Classroom is used as a learning management system by several higher education institutes in India. GPay, which began in India and has since expanded globally, is another of Google's innovations.

The Edufuture Excellence Awards honour changemakers who overcame obstacles to produce stories that inspire future generations. The primary goal of the Edufuture Excellence Awards 2022 is to recognise and honour the achievements of educational leaders, institutions, teachers, and students who have gone above and beyond in the educational field. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and Dr K Kasturirangan, former ISRO Chairman and Head of the NEP Drafting Committee, will be prominent individuals attending the awards.

Anurag Tripathi, CBSE Secretary; Sharad Vivek Sagar, CEO of Dexterity Global, Social Entrepreneur and KBC Expert; and Bani Paintal Dhawan, Head of Education for India and South Asia. Divya Arora, National Director, AFS Intercultural Program, India; and Rohit Anand, Head HR CoEs are among the renowned speakers at the event.