The All-India Council for Technical Education has framed a model curriculum recommending students in engineering colleges to study the Vedas, Puranas and tarka shastra – the science of dialectics and logic – apart from the core subjects, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.

This model curriculum is a guideline for institutions to refer to while revising their own syllabi. “The syllabus has been revamped by preparing a model curriculum as an updated curriculum is a student’s right,” said Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.

The course on Essence of Indian Knowledge Tradition will teach students Indian philosophy and linguistics, apart from yoga and the Indian perspective of modern science.

The new curriculum puts more emphasis on practical knowledge and lab work and has reduced the number of credits required for theory from 220 to 160, The Hindu reported. Internships, too, have been made mandatory, the technical education regulator said.

“This will help engineering graduates connect with the need of the industry and society at large,” the Hindustan Times quoted Javadekar as saying.

The minister said the curriculum should be updated annually and tweaked keeping in mind the needs of the industry.