Delhi Cabinet Minister Ashish Sood Speaks To Times Now Digital On NEET, Fuel Crisis, AI Education And Cyber Crime

In an exclusive interview with Times Now Digital, Delhi Cabinet Minister Ashish Sood, who holds the key portfolios of Home, Power, Education and Urban Development, spoke on a wide range of topics, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to reduce fuel consumption, AI in Education, Digital Delhi, fire safety, electricity demand, garbage landfills, and cyber crime.Q: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to save fuel amid the West Asia crisis. You are seen travelling by e-rickshaw and metro. What message would you like to give to the people of Delhi?A: By reducing fuel consumption, we can lower pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves and reduce dependence on global factors like tensions in the West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz.This

is not just a government initiative, it is a national responsibility. For the past two days, I have made the interaction with principals virtual. Today, I had a virtual meeting with the vice-chancellors of all the universities in Delhi.Q. You are handling four major portfolios - Home, Education, Power and Urban Development. What are the major achievements of your government so far?A: We have taken a major step toward tech-enabled education by installing 8,777 smart classrooms and 175 ICT labs. 100 AI-enabled language labs 100 digital libraries. We will expand this further in the current financial year. We are providing tech-enabled education to poor students. We are providing clean, nutritious food to poor people through Atal Canteens.

In power, we are revamping the DTL, which was completely neglected. We are going to strengthen the distribution network. We have spent Rs 1,400 crore in the first year and plan to invest Rs 17,000 crore over the next three years to strengthen Delhi’s power infrastructure. We are also implementing a long-term Fire Master Plan to modernise the fire department and improve emergency response.Q: How is the new school fee law (Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Act, 2025 giving real relief to parents? A: The issue of private schools charging arbitrary fees was not new. Previous governments were well aware that parents were struggling. Yet, they chose to look the other way, showing a clear lack of political will. For decades, private schools in Delhi functioned without any regulatory oversight, especially with regard to their fee structures. There was neither accountability nor any effective recourse for parents. We found this completely unacceptable. Under the new law, parents, teachers, principals, and management jointly decide school fees. Parents can assess whether the school is providing proper facilities such as drinking water, libraries, laboratories, canteens, and transportation. This law brings transparency and ensures that fee hikes are justified.Q: AI is becoming a major focus in education. What are your views on AI-enabled education in Delhi?A: We recently organised an AI initiative -- 'Grind'. -- with 5 lakh students. They worked on solving real-world problems using AI in areas such as healthcare, traffic management, education and environment.Today, we have smart boards, and gradually, we will introduce Chromebooks. With the integration of smart boards and Chromebooks, we will be able to track what a child is studying, what questions are being asked, where the child is weak, and how those weaknesses can be addressed.For example, if a child is weak in photosynthesis, the respiratory system, or civics, the system can generate more questions in those specific areas. We are also going to use AI to reduce the repetitive tasks of teachers.Q: Are we moving towards a digital Delhi?A: Yes, there will be a digital Delhi. But I am sure that AI can complement the wisdom of a teacher, but AI will never replace a teacher. This is my firm belief, and we are going to work on this basis. Without human touch and human intervention, no major change can happen.Q: What are your views on reforms in exams like NEET?A: NEET is a Yugantkari change introduced by Narendra Modi ji. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has played a key role in implementing it under the guidance of the Prime Minister.NEET has brought transparency to medical admissions and ended the earlier system where seats were often influenced by capitation fees. Now, NEET has given a complete change. It has changed the field of medical education by 360 degrees.Whether the son or daughter of an astronaut, a pilot, a railway engine driver, a bus driver, or even an e-rickshaw driver, every student gets an equal chance because of NEET. That has changed medical education by 360 degrees. That has created problems for many people so they are hell-bent on derailing it, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, we will overcome it.Yesterday, in a major press conference, Dharmendra Pradhan, the Honourable Education Minister, said that the government is considering further drastic changes in this field. You can understand the size and scale at which these examinations are conducted and implemented. Proper implementation takes time, and I am very hopeful that these changes will be introduced very soon. I would like to restrain my views on this issue here, as the matter is currently being investigated by several agencies.But, I would like to assure the young students, the Gen Z of this country, that PM Modi has provided every student with a transparent opportunity to appear for examinations and they will continue to be given an even more transparent and robust examination system.Q. Arvind Kejriwal has asked Gen Z to hit the streets like the youth in Nepal and Bangladesh over the NEET issue. What is your response?A: PM Modi ji, as I always say, is a very farsighted person. He had described these people as Urban Naxals way back in 2014–15 from the Ramlila Maidan. This is all part of their Urban Naxalism, and I would say that Arvind Kejriwal should not be taken seriously. I request you and other sections of the media not to take him seriously.The public defeated him in Delhi and he went to jail. Right now, in Surat, the Aam Aadmi Party has failed to make any impact in the municipality. They have rejected him. To hide the frustration, Kejriwal is trying to instigate people and create an atmosphere of anarchy. They have been rejected by the youth and the people of this country. You have seen that they launched a youth organisation in Delhi. Later, it became clear that they were not even able to contest the Delhi University student elections, and yet they claim to understand the mood and direction of Gen Z.On a lighter note, I would say that Arvind Kejriwal should check whether his own children, in whose name he took false oaths, belong to Gen Z and whether they take him seriously or not. He should check that first.Q: Fire incidents and electricity demand are increasing in Delhi. What steps is your government to handle power cuts and electricity supply ?A: In 2011, the central government asked all states to submit reports on the manpower they had and how their fire departments should be revamped. Despite that, no work was done in Delhi from 2011 to 2025. In these 15 years, Delhi has changed dramatically and its requirements have also evolved. We are now assessing what Delhi will need in the future -- how the city will function, how many fire stations should be built, and how much manpower will be required.Based on this assessment, we are preparing a Firefighting Master Plan for the next 5, 15 and 25 years. We have also directed the fire department to run awareness campaigns to educate people about fire prevention.This is important because nearly 95 per cent of buildings in Delhi do not have proper fire-fighting systems. People need to understand how to use electrical appliances safely and how to maintain wiring properly.We are also modernising the department. You will be surprised to know that the fire department does not even have an internal communication system. Officers at the site often have to rely on mobile phones to communicate with each other.We are addressing all of this and I am confident that we will complete this work very soon.As far as electricity is concerned, over the last 10 years, neither the transmission network nor the distribution network was strengthened adequately and the people of Delhi have suffered as a result.We have prepared the Delhi Power Master Plan for the next three years. It identifies where wires need to be replaced, where transformers need to be upgraded and what other improvements are required.Work worth Rs 1,400 crore has already been completed. To provide a safe and reliable power network, we are undertaking underground cabling and deploying digital twin technology, which will help us identify faults faster, reduce outage time and speed up repairs.Q: When will Delhi see visible improvements in garbage landfills?A: Very soon, you will see visible changes. Work is progressing very quickly. Within the next six months, you will see a sea change in the condition of Delhi’s garbage landfills.Q: Online scams and frauds are rising. Even the PM raised concerns around 'Digital Arrest'? What steps is your government taking to create awareness around such online scams, especially among senior citizens.A: We have launched awareness drives to educate people about digital fraud. At the same time, we are strengthening forensic labs and mobile cybercrime detection units with additional budget support. Our focus is on both prevention and swift action against cybercriminals.