In 2015, India decided to invest more in research universities, liberal arts and social sciences to improve the country's position in global ranking of universities. Indian universities never made it to the top 50 and even the top-ranked Indian institutions appear in low positions.

Many private universities are now addressing the challenge, adapting the globally favoured interdisciplinary model. The vice-chancellor of Ashoka University, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, hopes the focus on liberal arts will help break into better global ranking in 10 years, which is fast track, considering the long gestation and massive investments on research and teaching for a university.

"For the young generation in India, the hook to tap into liberal arts education is not just as a degree or profession but also the need to ask important questions about who they are," Mehta told ET Magazine. Mehta says jobs of the future would be more about basic reasoning skills and abilities that make one stand out in the market rather than content.

"The focus is now shifting to how good you are with reasoning, mathematical skills and writing skills — with these you can do any job well regardless of what content you are taught. The feedback we are getting about our students is that they stand out at their workplace, can solve a lot of problems and understand what questions to ask and have strong interpersonal skills — all attributes of a liberal arts education."

Read the full article about the revival of liberal arts education in India by Ishani Duttagupta at The Economic Times.