Imagine that a university wants to start an integrated teacher education programme, introduce an engineering programme in an emerging area, and launch a new multidisciplinary Master’s degree. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 encourages exactly this kind of flexibility. But the institution will have to deal separately with different regulators. Compounding this problem, each regulator will have its own forms, timelines and interpretations. As a result, the time and effort that should go into curriculum design and mentoring students often gets diverted into navigating regulatory procedures.
That is the nature of the fragmented regulatory system in our country today.
India’s higher education system now serves millions of learners. It is the largest in the world. Four major national regulators operate in this domain. The University Grants Commission (UGC) develops policies that impact over 80 per cent of students. Alongside it, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and the Council of Architecture (CoA) together reach an additional 10 per cent of students.
Such reach naturally creates high expectations. Society looks to the regulatory system to promote learning-outcomes-based education. The country needs a skilled workforce at scale for a self-reliant economy. NEP 2020 openly acknowledged that the current regulatory arrangement needs a complete overhaul. It called for a “light but tight” framework. Tight in the sense of clear standards, integrity and transparency. Light in the sense of minimal bureaucracy, simple processes and genuine autonomy for well-performing institutions. How can a system with overlapping mandates and fragmented procedures move towards that ideal?
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, was placed before Parliament on December 15. The objective of the Bill is not to add another body to an already crowded field. Instead, it proposes an integrated architecture called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (Commission) and its three independent Councils. The VSBA functions as an umbrella body and is not a centralised command structure. It will provide direction for the holistic growth of higher education and ensure coordination between councils. The Bill repeals the legacy Acts that established the UGC, AICTE and NCTE. VBSA brings all higher education institutions currently under the Ministry of Education, the UGC, AICTE, and NCTE into a coordinated framework for determining and maintaining standards. Institutions of National Importance, such as the IITs, will also be part of VBSA. They will continue to enjoy their current level of autonomy.
Within VBSA, the Bill creates three distinct councils. The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyaman Parishad (Regulatory Council), the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Gunvatta Parishad (Accreditation Council) and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Manak Parishad (Standards Council). The general practice in the regulatory domain is to separate regulation, accreditation, and standard-setting as independent functions to avoid possible conflicts of interest. In the new system, too, a single regulatory body will not design rules, grant approvals, and evaluate performance simultaneously.
The Regulatory Council will focus on coordinating and maintaining standards across institutions. It will utilise a technology-driven single-window system, where all higher education institutions are required to disclose information mandatorily and make it publicly accessible. The Accreditation Council will pay the way for creating an independent ecosystem of accrediting agencies. It will use publicly disclosed data of the Regulatory Council and conduct transparent and objective quality assessments. The Standards Council will formulate national academic benchmarks across disciplines. The CoA will continue to function as a Professional Standard Setting Body. However, it will bring domain expertise to curricula, learning outcomes and professional norms to VBSA without exercising direct regulatory control. The membership of VBSA and its councils is broad-based. It includes academicians, domain experts and representatives from states, Union Territories, state higher education institutions and Institutions of National Importance. In practical terms, this means that state governments continue to establish, fund and manage universities and colleges in their states. However, their representatives will be part of the deliberations when the Council meets. Therefore, the Bill’s provisions strengthen cooperative federalism.
The implications for students are significant. VBSA will ensure the creation of harmonised benchmarks and transparent accreditation. The new system will make it easier for students to understand the quality of institutions and programmes. When data on governance, faculty, infrastructure and learning outcomes is available in one public portal, students and parents can make more informed choices. The Bill’s emphasis on having a fair and accessible grievance redressal mechanism will be helpful to the students. The Bill also proposes systematic use of student feedback to help institutions become more responsive and accountable.
Institutions will also benefit when we move from a fragmented system to a harmonised and responsive regulatory architecture. Under the proposed framework, the Regulatory Council will maintain a single digital interface. All institutions must disclose key information on financial probity, audits, infrastructure, faculty and academic outcomes on this portal. Accreditation and ranking agencies will draw on this data. Institutions no longer have to send the same information to multiple organisations as they did earlier. Well-performing institutions will gain greater academic freedom. They will have more room for innovation in curriculum design and increased flexibility in research and collaboration.
The ultimate goal of VBSA is to support the development of institutions that meet international standards, while remaining rooted in Indian values and priorities. This aim is central to India’s aspiration to become a global knowledge hub. The Indian higher education system should not only train our students but also attract international students. Such a system can help create a pool of informed, skilled and responsible citizens who contribute at local, national and global levels. The underlying feature of the new system is that regulation is not just about compliance. It is about enabling institutions to fulfil their academic and social missions.
Of course, any structural reform in a system of this scale will require careful implementation. The new system will consider the diverse institutional capabilities, state contexts and resource conditions. Dialogue with universities, colleges, faculty and students will remain essential. The direction set by the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, is to make our higher education ecosystem the backbone for realising the national agendas of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat.
The writer is a former professor of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi, Vice-chancellor, JNU and Chairman, UGC. Views are personal.