AUSG Open Meeting: UG Council, HoR & Ministers Share Update

On Monday, November 3rd, 2025, at 9:30 p.m., the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) conducted an open meeting for the student body to raise concerns, ask questions, and learn about their ongoing work. In an email, the AUSG emphasised its commitment to ensuring transparency and that its decisions and priorities reflect what matters to students. 

The meeting began with updates on the issues the AUSG has been addressing, including the workers’ protests, the proposal for a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC), a dining space, and a grievance redressal form drafted by the Workers’ Welfare Committee. They informed students that the AUSG President Insha Husain (UG '26) and Vice President Ahana Walanju (UG '26) have been meeting with the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) weekly to discuss primary issues on campus. These range from working with the Residence Life Office on certain problems to reworking the Residence Life Policies through the new Working Group.  

The AUSG also outlined several ongoing initiatives such as working on The First Year  Committee, which acts as a bridge between first-year students and the AUSG, a recent collaboration with CODA, the yearbook club, and planning a campus-wide CASH survey with Raah. 

The AUSG then shared several updates concerning the Undergraduate (UG) Council. They mentioned that the UG Council started its work in May earlier this year and played a key role in the Cohort Leadership Program for the incoming cohort. The workers' protest was the first issue taken up by the Council, regarding which they made a unanimous decision to support the protest and requested the constitution of the Workers' Grievance Redressal Committee (WGRC). 

The Residence Life Policies were also part of their discussions. They mentioned that the policy changes were communicated to them over the summer,  especially around the ambit of mental health, when students were being sent off campus as a result of this. Some current issues that the council is actively working on include discussions on high AQI levels and accessibility, and the lack of lighting in some parts of academic buildings.

The discussion also covered updates from the House of Representatives (HoR). Sneha Menon (UG '26), the Speaker of the HoR, shared recent developments, explaining the internal elections held over the summer and the subsequent committee allocations. Each HoR member participated in a voting process and was given the opportunity to clarify mandates before committees were finalised. 

The AUSG also shared information about the new committees. The Committee on Institutional Conduct and Accountability (CICA) revised its mandate to ensure that it provides a support system to students and works on policy reform. They are also working on the composition of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), whose initial task will be to work on discrepancies within the SG mandate. The Financial Aid Committee has three ongoing projects, along with discussions with the DSA regarding financial aid. The Diversity and Inclusion Committee’s composition is also underway as AUSG has reached out to associations of marginalised students on campus. 

As the UG Council and HOR updates came to a close, the floor was opened up to discuss ministry updates. 

Ministry of Academic Affairs 

The Minister of Academic Affairs (MAA), Teesha Arora (UG ‘27), began by highlighting the ministry’s work since the start of the semester. Following an email to the incoming first-year cohort in August 2025, the ministry focused on setting up an open Q&A platform for first-year students to help with the onboarding process, FC course preference forms and the registration procedure. The ‘AMAs’ and the ‘Meet the Board of Representatives’ sessions gave first years a space to discuss potential majors, minors and academic trajectories. 

MAA held events like ‘Meet the Academic Societies’, ‘TechItEasy’ and a collaboration with MCWB to examine academic difficulties students face. They also circulated resources relevant to mid-semester week. From exam preparation resources and study sessions to the release of the P/F Guide and the making of the non-UG cohort report, MAA has worked towards increasing accessibility across cohorts. 

Ministry of Community Well-being 

The Minister of Community Well-Being (MCWB), Ajitesh Vishwanath (UG ‘27), recounted the challenges of unaffordable medical resources, zero emergency contraceptives and lack of specialised care on campus that the ministry has actively worked on improving this semester. In addition to working on policy reforms with the Student Care Office, Vishwanath noted that access to sexual well-being products was restored in tuck shops. A comprehensive consolidated document on healthcare and sexual well-being featuring FAQs was also released.

MCWB is also set to hold Ashoka’s consolidated Health Camp on  November 10th and 11th, in partnership with Max Hospitals, featuring 7 specialists and free consultations for all students. The ministry will also release the International Student’s Handbook, which has been in the works for a year now. In collaboration with the Office of Learning Support (OLS), MCWB has proposed a project to allot classrooms offering quiet spaces on campus. 

Sports Ministry 

The Sports Minister, Aisha Lowe (UG ‘27), recalled that the year began with pre-season. In addition to its focus on injury prevention and proper field & court maintenance, the Sports Ministry has also reworked the Non Cis-Men policy, changing Non Cis-Men hours to 6 am-9 am and 6 pm-9 pm in the RH-6-7 gym. They also organised a Jersey Design Festival and Competition to integrate students without prior sporting experience. 

The inclusivity team conducted sensitisation workshops for captains across all teams. The captains were also allowed an opportunity to discuss their plans for the upcoming year, which, with the help of the collaborations team, came up with a list of tournaments across the country. Currently, the ministry is organising a Run for a cause 5K marathon in collaboration with IEEE and Neev to raise funds for the education of the children of Asawarpur. The ministry is also looking to collaborate with SOBAC in mid-November to facilitate games for Blind Chess, Blind Cricket and Blind Football.  

Environment Ministry 

The Environment Minister, Saanvi Magod (UG ‘27), began discussing the progress of the ministry’s work by outlining the waste management team’s efforts to set up paper and plastic waste bins across campus. They also plan to revise the current labels on bins with those containing clearer instructions. The Events department has planned a collaboration with the Ministry of Technology (TechMin) to locate where e-waste bins are placed and how to dispose of e-waste. As the ministry pushes for wet and dry waste bins in the RH pantries, they are also pushing for digital screens to be used instead of posters for advertising to reduce waste.

The ministry is currently working with Shatranj, the Entrepreneurship fest, to make it a zero-waste initiative. They have circulated a biodiversity survey on campus and have inducted inclusivity POCs who aim to make bins, mail and communication more accessible. 

Campus Life Ministry 

The Campus Life Minister (CLM), Aveka Jain (UG ‘27), presented a brief about the Grub Fest, which is set to happen towards the end of November. Submission of the dining report, announcement about the opening of a new non-vegetarian outlet on campus, reports on Healthy Nook and other outlets, along with food waste management, have been the primary dining-related targets that CLM has implemented. In addition, CLM has been working closely with Residence Life and AURA to streamline concerns across floors. 

The Ministry has planned to introduce more disciplined shuttle booking and cancellation policies to ensure efficiency and accountability. Jain discussed the smog-related policies that CLM has been pushing for and introduced the policy repository, which she described to be a “one-stop shop for how-tos and what to’s on campus”. In terms of financial aid, the stipend for students on aid has gone up from INR 3000 to INR 5000. She emphasised the importance of collaboration across batches and noted that the ministry is open to addressing grievances and finding solutions to batch-specific concerns. 

The Cultural Ministry (Jazbaa) 

The Cultural Minister, Sia Sarin (UG ‘27), followed with an overview of Jazbaa’s semester. Beginning with Sopaan and Shaam-e-Jazbaa, the ministry sought to build a more inclusive campus culture. The ministry also observed Ganesh Chaturthi by distributing modaks and placing small rat statues across campus. September saw large-scale events like Onam, with over 400 participants, and Garba, which recorded about 2400 attendees, marking the highest turnout for any Ashokan event. October followed with Diwali Haat and Noor-e-Jazbaa, where students painted diyas and created a festive atmosphere, as well as a Halloween celebration with costumes and escape rooms. 

Sarin highlighted that the ministry has attempted to ensure resources remain for the upcoming fest, Samaras, organised in collaboration with SOBAC and the Sports Ministry. She added that Jazbaa has a new Community Relations and Engagement vertical with 97 members to accommodate students interested in working on Jazbaa’s projects. Efforts towards inclusivity include plans for a permanent sensory room to assist neurodivergent students.

Ministry of Technology (TechMin) 

Lastly, Vansh Bothra (UG ‘26), Minister of Technology, discussed the ministry’s ongoing projects ranging from inductions and platform revamps to accessibility improvements. The new SG platform entails features like colour-coded planners and saved drafts. He also noted that Inter-collegiate fests, which require outside students to arrive at Ashoka, will now be centrally managed by a security system. The ministry has digitised the mailroom and developed systems for sports inventory and laundry management. 

A university-wide chatbot, built in collaboration with the School of Advanced Computing, is underway to answer student policy queries, along with continued work with the operations team to scale the mailroom facility to faculty as well. The ministry is planning to build a system where live scores for sports events like APL and ACSS can be updated. Bothra concluded by encouraging students to approach the ministry with both ideas and feedback for upcoming projects.

In closing, Utsav Kumar Mathur (UG ‘27), the Public Relations Director, highlighted the publication of monthly SG reports, collaborations with SLO and CODA for batch photographs and the release of a centralised SG Linktree. The Treasury Department also introduced an integrated budget and reimbursement tracker, marking a continued effort toward transparency.

(Edited by Fatema Tambawalla and Anamta Husain)