Archive · 17 Dec 2025
Pradhan Defends Higher Education Regulator Bill
The Indian government has introduced a new bill called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025.
This bill aims to create a new system for higher education in India.
It will replace three old organizations: the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE.
The new system will have a main commission and three councils.
States will have a role in this new system, which they didn't have before.
The bill also includes important institutes like IITs, IIMs, and IISERs.
The government says this new system will set higher standards for all education institutions.
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, and the Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, defended it on Tuesday.
He said the name of the bill is in a traditional Indian style and that it's time to move away from old colonial ways.
The bill also gives the education ministry power to fund institutions, which is a change from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Some teachers' groups are worried that this could lead to too much control by the ministry.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, proposes an umbrella body for higher education with state participation.
The bill seeks to dissolve the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE, and replace them with a commission and three councils.
States will have a role in the new regulatory framework, with nominees in the councils and professors from state institutions.
Institutes of national importance like IITs, IIMs, and IISERs will retain their autonomy but will participate in setting higher standards.
The bill gives the education ministry power to handle disbursement of grants to institutions, marking a departure from the NEP 2020, which recommended a separate Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC).
- Who
- Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a government official
- What
- Defended the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which proposes an umbrella body for higher education and the dissolution of UGC, AICTE, and NCTE
- When
- Bill introduced on Monday, Pradhan's defense on Tuesday
- Where
- Lok Sabha
- Why
- To set up an umbrella body for higher education with state participation and to move away from the colonial mindset, acknowledging a departure from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
Government
Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association
Funding Mechanism
Government
The education ministry should handle disbursement of grants to institutions due to multiple sources of funding, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).
Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association
The provision would lead to education ministry interference in the functioning of higher educational institutions.
- Bill Name
- Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025
- Introduced In
- Lok Sabha
- Date Introduced
- Monday
- Key Regulatory Bodies to be Dissolved
- UGC, AICTE, NCTE
- State Participation
- Two professors from state higher education institutions and nominees from states/UTs in councils
- Institutes of National Importance
- IITs, IIMs, IISERs
- Funding Mechanism
- Multiple sources of funding, no grant-giving powers to the regulatory council
- Bill Name Rationale
- Bharatiya name, moving away from colonial mindset
- NEP 2020 Proposal
- Higher Education Commission with four verticals, including a Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC)
- VBSA Bill Proposal
- Three councils for regulation, accreditation, and standards setting; education ministry handles grant disbursement
