New NCERT English textbook for class 9: Trimmed syllabus, more texts from Indian authors
New Delhi (PTI): Texts from Indian authors such as Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty, Naga writer Temsula Ao, Rabindranath Tagore and Assamese novelist Mitra Phukan have found a place in the new English textbook by NCERT for class 9.
In the previous textbooks -- taught in schools between 2006-07 to 2025-26 academic sessions -- 15 of the 29 texts were written by international authors.
According to officials, the number of textbooks for the subject has been reduced from two to one and the number of texts from 29 to 16, including as many texts from Indian authors as international authors.
The new Class 9 English textbook called "Kaveri" opens with a story taken from a 2004 book, "How I Taught My Grandmother to Read and Other Stories" by Rajya Sabha MP and author Sudha Murty.
The book, prepared as per the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, will replace earlier textbooks "Beehive" and "Moments."
The new Class 9 textbook containing "elements of Indian Knowledge Systems(IKS)" has 16 texts -- eight by Indian authors, including Subramania Bharati, Sudha Murty, Temsula Ao, Mitra Phukan and Rabindranath Tagore, and six by foreign writers such as David Roth, Charles Swain, Bryanna T. Perkins, Robert Langley, Maya Anthony and Irene Chua.
Six texts are by foreign writers such as American poet David Roth, English poet Charles Swain, American children’s writer Bryanna T. Perkins, poet Robert Langley, writer Maya Anthony, and Singapore-based author Irene Chua.
The book also includes an anonymous poem, "Gifts of Grace: Honouring Our Vocations", and an interview-based piece titled "The World of Limitless Possibilities", featuring an interview with Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Himanta resigns as Assam CM, paving way for formation of new govt
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday resigned along with his cabinet colleagues, paving the way for formation of a new government led by the BJP, officials said.
The BJP-led NDA bagged 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. The assembly elections were held in a single phase on April 9, and counting of votes took place on May 4.
"Following the formal notification of the results of #AssamElections2026 and to enable the formation of the new government, Dr @himantabiswa tendered his resignation as Chief Minister along with that of the council of Ministers to Hon'ble Governor Shri @Laxmanacharya54 today at Lok Bhawan," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.
ALSO READ: 11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
The Governor has accepted the resignation, and requested Sarma to continue as the caretaker CM till the new government assumes office, it said.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the Lok Bhawan, Sarma said the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place after May 11.
“As it was a historic win, we have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grace the occasion," he said.
The new Assam chief minister will be selected at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in presence of central observers, Sarma said.
