India, Feb. 5 -- The new NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) social science textbooks for Class 9, set to be released in March will focus on indigenous intellectual and cultural contributions across fields such as mathematics, philosophy, science and technology, medicine, architecture, agriculture, literature and art, according to the draft syllabus released Thursday.

Students will learn about Indian philosophy, Ayurveda, yoga, the "22 shrutis" of Indian music, horticulture, the use of herbs and spices, and etymology, and how these influenced the course of Indian history.

Students will also study the emergence of the modern Indian nation along with the "rich civilisational history of the Indian subcontinent" in...