Central university (India)

The main entrance gate of Banaras Hindu University, first central university of India (founded and centralised in 1916).
The main entrance gate of Aligarh Muslim University, second central university of India (founded and centralised in 1920).

Central universities in India are public universities established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education,[1] except for nine universities which are under the purview of other ministries.[2] In general, universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.[3] In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination.[4] Central universities, in addition, are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers, governance etc., and established 12 new universities.[5]

As of June 2023, the list of central universities published by the UGC includes 56 central universities.[2]

  1. ^ "Central Universities". mhrd.gov.in. Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b "List of 56 Central Universities" (PDF). UGC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  3. ^ "UGC Act-1956" (PDF). mhrd.gov.in/. Secretary, University Grants Commission. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Professional Councils". ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Central Universities Act, 2009" (PDF). Central University of Karnataka. Retrieved 14 August 2016.