Well-known Yoga guru Baba Ramdev may be poised to head India’s first government-approved Vedic education board, in light of the selection panel for the same recommending Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust for the creation of the Bharatiya Shiksha Board (BSB), reports News18.

The five-member committee’s recommendation will now go to the governing council of the Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar-headed Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratishthan (MSRVP) for approval.

The MSRVP is an autonomous entity which works towards the propagation of ‘Ved Vediya’ or Vedic education. It has been tasked by the government to select a private sponsoring body for the setting up of the BSB.

The other applicants who had replied to the ‘Expression of Interest’ issued by the MSRVP were the Ritnand Balved Education Foundation, which oversees the Amit group of institutions, and the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, based in Pune.

Once in place, the BSB will be responsible for standardising ‘Indian traditional knowledge’ which will include education related to the Vedas, Sanskrit, Shastras and the Darsanas, among other scriptures.

The education board will also be required to draft new syllabus, conduct examinations, provide certificates and oversee the recognition of Gurukulas, pathshalas and other institutes which combine a syllabus including Vedic and modern education.

The Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust has pledged to spend Rs 21 crore on the BSB. This new education board will help in creating recognition for already operational educational institutions like Ramdev’s residential school ‘Acharyakulam’ in Haridwar, Vidya Bharati schools belonging to the RSS and gurukuls operated by the Arya Samaj.