Bill meant to replace UGC, AICTE circulated among 39 Ministries, departments for discussions, says government

The draught Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, to overhaul the higher acquisition regulatory model successful India, was circulated among 39 Union Ministries and departments arsenic portion of inter-ministerial consultations, the authorities has informed the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) looking into the Bill, The Hindu has learnt.

The Bill proposes the mounting up of a 12-member umbrella committee – the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan – to regenerate the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Unlike the UGC, the caller committee volition not person the powerfulness to disburse grants. The Bill hands implicit the backing powerfulness to “mechanisms devised by the Ministry of Education”.

Also Read | Government plans umbrella committee successful ‘overhaul’ of higher acquisition regulatory framework

The 31-member JPC is headed by BJP MP D. Purandeswari. In a connection to the JPC up of its archetypal gathering connected Thursday, the authorities explained the inheritance to the Bill and its provisions.

The Bill intends to subsume the UGC, AICTE, and the NCTE, by repealing the laws nether which these bodies were acceptable up. The committee volition see abstracted regulatory, standards, and accreditation councils.

The authorities said the Bill evolved from Budget announcements successful 2019-20. It had projected the constitution of the VBSA nether introduction 66 of the Union List successful the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. It further noted that the plans for this betterment had been laid retired successful the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which was brought successful aft wide consultations.

Also Read | Lok Sabha refers Bill to acceptable up higher acquisition committee to associated committee of Parliament

Opposition’s dissent

The VBSA Bill was introduced by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan successful Parliament successful December 2025, adjacent arsenic MPs from crossed Opposition parties opposed it. They said the Bill represented “executive overreach”, subjected higher acquisition institutes to “pervasive enforcement control, graded autonomy, intrusive compliance requirements, terrible penalties, and closure powers”; and went against the principles of federalism.

Soon aft the Bill’s introduction, the authorities said it would beryllium examined by a JPC, which was constituted earlier this month.

Sources told The Hindu that the government, successful its connection to the panel, explained the rationale down separating the assistance disbursal powers from the regulatory authority, saying that this was needed to region imaginable struggle of interest, and to guarantee transparency.

At the JPC gathering connected Thursday, officials of the Education Ministry and the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department) are expected to little the sheet members connected the VBSA Bill.