Friends, It is heartening to know that a team of four IISc undergraduate students have done well in PLANCKS, an international contest in solving physics problems and came sixth in the word. [The first two places went to Cavendish in Cambridge and Oxford]. One is also equally happy to know IITM conferred either a 3-year BSc Degree or a 4-year BS Degree on 867 students who have not come through the usual JEE route. This special Bachelor's degree programme aims to make quality education available to all, regardless of age, background, or location. Nearly 150 of the new graduates belong to families with annual income below Rs 1 lakh, while another 100 come from families earning less than Rs 5 lakh. An additional 365 students earned diplomas. Only a few years ago, Prof. Ajantha Subramanian, then at Harvard University, had commented adversely on the elitism in the admission policies of IITs, paying special attention to IITM, in her book *The Caste of Merit*. Kudos to IITM for addressing the concerns expressed not only by those concerned about social justice but also by many citizens of India, especially parents of children who were in the final years of schooling. And then you read the rather disturbing news story of gaming in higher education institutions in India: A research integrity index shines light on how Indian universities have gamed the publishing metrics – Science Chronicle <https://sciencechronicle.in/2025/06/12/a-research-integrity-index-shines-light-on-how-indian-universities-have-gamed-the-publishing-metrics/?fbclid=IwY2xjawK3yOJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETExbzBkOVBqc3hza3FaZWJJAR6BMxpbrUYiZHwg3AAWwRl7bFAJqiJPvkx7ZCzSJ6ARZNP-J1OU8b0GwknEGg_aem_LJPbzxd6lgRdbfms_4UmjQ> . MHRD UGC, NAAC , NIRF and other agencies and individuals need to be more vigilant. With warm regards, Subbiah Arunachalam http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4398-4658 http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-9925-2009