On Monday, the Union government brought in front of the lower house a major bill, which aims at the complete overhaul of India's higher education regulatory framework. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, was presented by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. It expects the formation of a single regulatory body under which universities and other higher educational institutions in India would be monitored.
The government says that the new act intends to substitute the present highly divided regulatory system with a single unified regulatory body, which would pay more attention to academic standards, outcome-based accreditation, and granting greater autonomy to institutions. By establishing a new entity called Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan, transparency will be one of the main features of the system, besides quality levels and self-rule being really encouraged in higher education institutions.
The Bill Introduces
The draft law provides for the abolition of the existing regulators, namely the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). A new single commission with three separate functional councils will replace them:
A Regulatory Council
An Accreditation Council
A Standards Council
The commission will consist of 12 people. The members will be the chairs of the three councils, the Union higher education secretary, two academicians from state universities, five experts from the education sector, and one member secretary. The appointments will be carried out by the central government following the recommendations of a three-member search committee.
The Bill also provides for strict, harsh measures for breach of provisions. For example, establishments without proper sanction could face a minimum penalty of 2 crore. In contrast, other types of violations may result in fines as low as ₹10 lakh and as high as 30 lakh. Repeated offences might result in at least 75 lakh fines or even a suspension of the entity.
