Union Cabinet Approves Single Regular for Higher Education 'Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill'

Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill: The Union Cabinet adopted a measure on Friday that will replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with a single regulator for higher education. "Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill" is the new name for the proposed legislation, which was previously known as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill. According to the officials, "the Bill is designed to simplify governance, eliminate overlapping regulations, and shift oversight from compliance-heavy procedures to a stronger emphasis on academic quality and learning outcomes in higher education institutions."

At the moment, the NCTE is the regulating agency for teacher education, the AICTE is in charge of technical education, and the UGC is in charge of non-technical higher education. Except for law and medical schools, the proposed single education regulator will function as a single regulator of higher education. Regulation, accreditation, and establishing professional standards will be its three main objectives. The education ministry, not the regulator, will continue to oversee funding, which is regarded as a distinct vertical. HECI is intended to provide "light but tight" oversight in higher education, according to the National Education Policy 2020. It claims that in order to revitalise and support the higher education sector, the regulatory framework must be completely redesigned.

Earlier on November 28, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was urged by Congress lawmaker Digvijaya Singh, who leads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, to refer the HECI Bill to his panel for review and discussion before its introduction in Parliament during the winter session. Concerns about "excessive centralisation" and insufficient state involvement were voiced by the Singh-led group in February 2025 over the planned HECI as the primary regulator of higher education.

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