In a notable revision for the academic year, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced an updated Class 7 mathematics textbook that emphasises India’s early contributions to algebra and geometry. 

The volume, titled Ganita Prakash (Part 2), includes references to scholars such as Brahmagupta and Bhāskara II, placing mathematical concepts in a historical and cultural context, News18 reports.

One chapter on integers draws on Brahmagupta’s 7th-century work, the Brahmasphuṭasiddhanta, crediting him with distinctly explaining multiplication and division of positive and negative numbers.

The algebra section uses the term “bijaganita”, meaning algebra in ancient Indian tradition, and points out how Indian mathematicians used letters to represent unknowns, one of the earliest examples of algebraic thinking.

The textbook also explores geometric ideas drawn from the ancient Indian texts known as the Sulba‑Sutras, which, among other things, describe the construction of perpendiculars and bisectors for fire-altar design, thereby linking geometry to ritual, design and practical craft.

Additional sections trace how Indian mathematical ideas were transmitted to the Arab world and then to Europe, observing that the term “algebra” derives from the Arabic al-jabr present in the 9th-century text by Al‑Khwarizmi.

These changes come in line with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) and the associated curriculum framework, which advocate the inclusion of Indian Knowledge Systems across school education.