Paving Path to Viksit Bharat@2047 – Restructuring Higher Education with Indic Priorities

India’s vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 represents not merely an economic aspiration but a comprehensive national project encompassing social, cultural, ethical, and intellectual advancement. Higher education occupies a central position in this vision, as it is through universities and teacher education institutions that future leaders, professionals, and citizens are shaped. This paper argues that achieving the goals of Viksit Bharat@2047 requires a fundamental restructuring of higher education that goes beyond incremental reforms and engages deeply with India’s own civilisational knowledge traditions. The study situates its analysis within the framework of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which explicitly recognises the importance of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), holistic development, multidisciplinary learning, and value-based education. Drawing from classical Indic educational ideals such as the Gurukul system, the paper highlights enduring principles including learner-centric pedagogy, ethical formation, experiential learning, and the close relationship between knowledge and societal responsibility. Rather than advocating a revivalist or nostalgic approach, the paper positions Indic priorities as dynamic intellectual resources capable of enriching contemporary higher education. Adopting a qualitative and conceptual research design, the study analyses policy documents, academic literature, and selected educational models to identify gaps in the present higher education ecosystem. The findings suggest that while India has made significant progress in expanding access and infrastructure, concerns related to relevance, moral leadership, contextual knowledge, and integration of values remain insufficiently addressed. The paper concludes that restructuring higher education through Indic priorities can foster globally competent yet culturally grounded graduates, thereby strengthening India’s contribution to global knowledge while remaining rooted in its own philosophical foundations. Such an approach is essential for realising the transformative vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.