Institutes of National Importance including IITs and IIMs have submitted objections to the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025. They want explicit exemptions from the proposed regulatory overhaul to protect institutional autonomy. The bill is under review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill proposes to replace the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education with a single apex body. Several IITs and IIMs along with IISERs have asked for total exemption or exclusion from specific clauses on regulatory approvals and penalties.
IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIM Sambalpur and IISER Mohali sought complete exemption. IIT Madras requested exclusion from clauses covering online programmes, new colleges and penalties that could reach 75 lakh rupees. The government has pointed to Clause 49 as a safeguard for autonomy of Institutes of National Importance.
The Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh warned that the penalty structure could disproportionately affect small and rural institutions. It noted that outcome-based assessments may disadvantage new institutes facing structural constraints rather than negligence.
NDA-ruled states Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh have also objected to the centralising provisions in submissions to the committee headed by BJP MP D. Purandeswari.
