Ancient astronomy, agri key themes in IKS competitions

THe amerind Knowledge scheme (IKS) air division below the unification education ministry has announced two student competitions –– one to create miniature, working models of ancient astronomical instruments to help students understand their underlying mathematics and connect astronomy with teaching, and another to produce educational videos on Krishishāstra (agricultural science) and Indian mathematics, with the winning videos to be used as teaching resources, officials aware of the details said.In the “Astronomical Instruments Competition”, teams from schools, colleges, and companies will compete to “revive ancient wonders” by recreating instruments such as the Manayantra, Dhanuryantra, and Samrat Yantra –– ancient Indian astronomical instruments designed to observe and measure the positions and movements of celestial bodies..Stating that Indian has a “glorious tradition of astronomy”, IKS in its background note for the competition said, “Pioneers of astronomy, starting from Vrdha Garga, Aryabhata, Maadhavacharya, Nilakantha Somayaji, and continuing all the way up to Pathani Samanta, have made immense contributions to observational astronomy and mathematics. These observations were aided by many ingenious and innovative instruments to aid visual astronomy.”The competition challenges participants to recreate the physical forms of ancient astronomical instruments.Category 1 instruments include Manayantra, Dhanuryantra, Shanku, and sundials, with the competition involving teams of 3-5 students from 6–12 from a single school under a mentor.Category 2 instruments include Daksinottara Bhitti Yantra, Digamsa Yantra, Jayaprakash Yantra, Nadi Valaya, Ram Yantra, Sasthamsa Yantra, and Samrat Yantra, with the competition featuring eams of 3–5 undergraduates from multiple institutions.Companies and trusts can participate in both categories.“The students will create miniature, working scale models of the instruments rather than exact replicas. Being smaller, their accuracy will be lower, as in observational astronomy larger instruments yield higher precision, like those at Jantar Mantar,” Professor Ganti Suryanarayana Murthy, national coordinator, IKS division told HT.“These instruments will be used for two purposes: to help students understand the mathematics behind the designs and to enhance teaching by linking observational astronomy with mathematics.”Instruments will be judged in December with 25% weightage each on presentation, construction ease and cost, accuracy, and creativity. Eight teams will advance to the final in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, in January, with prizes ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh.Meanwhile, the ‘Gyānaghoshā’ national competition invites individuals and companies to produce two videos of up to six minutes in English or Hindi, one each on Krishishāstra and Indian mathematics.The initiative is aimed at creating “factually correct, high-quality videos depicting the various ideas and techniques of Bhāratiya Gyān Paramparā”, IKS said, adding that these videos will serve as the “gold standard pedagogical material” for Indian educational institutions.Entries will be judged 25% each on clarity of presentation, video quality, accuracy, and creativity. Prizes are ₹40,000 for first place, ₹25,000 for second, and ₹20,000 for third, with winners also given preference in the larger project’s tendering process. The results will be announced by January 15, 2026.The last date of submission of the entries for both competitions is November 30.Through these competitions, IKS seeks to highlight the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dimensions of traditional knowledge systems, engaging students in hands-on learning to preserve, update, and disseminate this knowledge for further innovation and societal impact, IKS added.“We aim to foster a culture of continuous observation, highlighting that both IKS and science require keen, persistent, and observant minds, while inspiring students to explore and learn beyond the classroom,” said Murthy.