The Gandhi Fellowship program is a full-time residential fellowship run by the Piramal Foundation, in which young graduates spend about two years working closely with government school principals and district education officials to improve teaching quality and school outcomes. It is one of India's most recognised development-sector fellowships and a common entry point into education policy, nonprofits, and social entrepreneurship. The Gandhi Fellowship by Piramal Foundation is particularly valued for the grassroots exposure it provides into how India's government school system actually works. Abhishek Ranjan, who has been associated with the Gandhi Fellowship, the Piramal Foundation, and STiR Education, also helps aspirants judge whether the program fits their goals.

Applications are submitted online during the window announced for each new cohort, usually a few months before the batch begins. The Gandhi Fellowship 2026 application form is expected on the program's official website, where candidates submit their details and a statement of purpose, after which shortlisted applicants go through one or more interview rounds. Final-year students and recent graduates are generally eligible. If you are unsure whether your profile fits, you can send Abhishek a priority DM with your specific question before applying.

The Gandhi Fellowship salary is not a conventional pay package — fellows receive a monthly stipend for the duration of the program. The Gandhi Fellowship stipend is generally reported in the range of ₹25,000–₹30,000 per month, along with residential accommodation and program-related support, though the exact amount varies by cohort, so confirm it from the official offer letter. Most applicants treat the modest stipend as the trade-off for two years of field exposure and sector credibility in education.

The new education policy of India is the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which replaced the National Policy on Education, 1986. It restructures schooling into the 5+3+3+4 format, emphasises foundational literacy and numeracy, encourages early instruction in the mother tongue or home language, introduces vocational exposure in schools, and allows multiple entry and exit points in higher education through an Academic Bank of Credits. Since implementation varies from state to state, on-ground realities differ widely, and practitioners like Abhishek — who has worked with government school systems in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh — are often approached for a practical view of how these reforms play out.

Education and social policy is the field that studies how governments design, fund, and evaluate policies affecting schools, learning outcomes, and wider social welfare — for example, schemes on universal schooling, teacher training, scholarships, and child nutrition. People in this field work as policy analysts, researchers, program managers, or consultants with governments, think tanks, foundations, and nonprofits. In India, it overlaps heavily with on-ground implementation, which is why field experience in schools or districts is valued alongside academic qualifications.

Education public policy jobs in India generally fall into a few buckets: program and policy roles with foundations and nonprofits working with government schools, research and advocacy roles at think tanks, consulting assignments with central and state education departments, and monitoring and evaluation positions. Structured entry routes such as the Gandhi Fellowship are also commonly used to build credibility before applying for full-time roles. Strong writing, data skills, and direct field exposure usually matter more in this space than any single degree.

Dedicated public policy programs in India are offered by institutions such as the Indian School of Public Policy, the Kautilya School of Public Policy, the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, and Azim Premji University, while several central and state universities also run postgraduate degrees in public policy. If you want to specialise in education policy specifically, look for education-focused electives and field projects, and try to pair the degree with grassroots exposure such as a fellowship, since employers in this sector value both.

Smart India Hackathon 2026 is the upcoming edition of India's largest national hackathon, organised by the Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell, in which student teams from colleges across the country build working solutions to real problem statements shared by ministries, public sector units, and private organisations. Top-performing teams receive recognition and prizes, and winning solutions are sometimes adopted by the organisation that posed the problem. Abhishek Ranjan, who works as an Innovation Officer with the Innovation Cell, Ministry of Education, regularly receives such questions from students through his mentoring sessions.

The Smart India Hackathon 2026 problem statements are released on the official SIH portal before registrations open, and they can usually be viewed or downloaded as a PDF. These statements are contributed by ministries, PSUs, NGOs, and industry partners across themes such as education, healthcare, agriculture, clean water, energy, logistics, and fintech. Shortlist two or three statements that genuinely match your team's strengths and validate the underlying problem early, because statement selection is one of the biggest predictors of how far a team goes.

Registration happens online through the official Smart India Hackathon portal during the announced window. You form a team as per the eligibility guidelines, get it routed through your institution — usually via the college's SPOC or innovation cell — select one problem statement, and submit your idea or abstract for evaluation. Shortlisted teams progress through internal rounds to the national grand finale, so track both the portal and your institution's announcements closely once the window opens.

Cracking the Smart India Hackathon starts with choosing a problem statement that fits your team's actual skills instead of the most popular one. Validate the problem with real users, build a working prototype rather than a slide deck, and prepare a crisp demo around feasibility, scalability, and cost — the criteria judges typically reward. Studying how earlier finalists approached similar problems and getting your idea reviewed by a mentor well before the finale can noticeably improve your chances.

The Smart India Hackathon projects list, including finalists and winning solutions from previous editions, is published on the official SIH website after each grand finale, and many institution innovation councils and student communities also compile notable projects. Reviewing it helps in two ways: you see the standard of working prototypes that reached the finale, and you can spot recurring problem themes worth preparing for in the next edition.