The higher education system in India includes both private and public universities. Public universities are supported by the Government of India and the state governments, while private universities are mostly supported by various bodies and societies. Universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.[1] In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and co-ordination.[2]
The types of universities include:
- Central universities, or Union universities, are established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education.[3] As of 14 November 2023,[update] the list of central universities published by the UGC includes 56 central universities.[4]
- State universities are run by the state government of each of the states and territories of India and are usually established by a local legislative assembly act. As of 14 November 2023[update], the UGC lists 479 active state universities.[5][note 1] The oldest establishment date listed by the UGC is 1857, shared by the University of Calcutta, the University of Madras and the University of Mumbai. Most State Universities are affiliating universities administering many affiliated colleges (often located in small towns) that typically offer a range of undergraduate courses, but may also offer post-graduate courses. More established colleges may even offer PhD programs in some departments with the approval of the affiliating university.
- Deemed university, or "Deemed to be University", is a status of autonomy granted by the Department of Higher Education on the advice of the UGC, under Section 3 of the UGC Act.[7] As of 14 November 2023[update], the UGC lists 124 institutes which were granted the deemed to be university status.[8] According to this list, the first institute to be granted deemed university status was Indian Institute of Science, which was granted this status on 12 May 1958. In many cases, the same listing by the UGC covers several institutes. For example, the listing for Homi Bhabha National Institute covers the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and other institutes.[9]
- Private universities are established by an Act of a State Legislative Assembly and approved by the UGC. As of 14 November 2023[update], the UGC consolidated list of universities lists 455 state private universities.[10]
As of 14 November 2023[update], these four types of universities total 1114 universities together. There are universities of some kind in each of the 28 states of India as well as five of the eight union territories: Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry. The state with the most universities is Gujarat with 97 universities, and Gujarat has also by far the most state private universities, 63 in number.[10] Tamil Nadu is the state with the most deemed universities, numbering 28,[8] and Karnataka has the most state universities, 42.[5] Delhi has 7 central universities, the largest number of all the states and territories.[4]
- Institutes of National Importance Apart from the above universities, other institutions are granted the permission to autonomously award degrees. However, they do not affiliate colleges and are not officially called "universities" but "autonomous organizations" or "autonomous institutes". They fall under the administrative control of the Department of Higher Education.[11] These organisations include the Indian Institutes of Information Technology, Indian Institutes of Technology, the National Institutes of Technology, the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, the Indian Institutes of Management and other autonomous institutes. These institutes are not listed below.
Also not listed are institutes which are under the control of the professional councils, without an approval of the UGC, e.g. Agricultural Universities, which are under the control of the Agricultural Education Division of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), one of the professional councils.[12][13]
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also maintains a list fake Universities operating in India. UGC has said that these 24 self-styled, unrecognised institutions functioning in contravention of the UGC Act have been declared as fake and are not entitled to confer any degrees.[14] As of 14 November 2023[update], the list contains 20 institutions.[15]
- ^ "University Grants Commission Act, 001956" (PDF). Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ "Professional Councils". ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "Central Universities". mhrd.gov.in. Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ a b "List of 56 Central Universities" (PDF). UGC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ a b "List of State Universities as on 16.11.2022" (PDF). University Grants Commission. 16 November 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Faculty of Dental Sciences Education Overview". King George's Medical University. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IISST) Thiruvananthapuram Declared as Deemed to be University". Union Human Resource Development Ministry, Press Information Bureau. 14 July 2008. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
- ^ a b "List of Institutions Which Have Been Declared Deemed To Be Universities as On 16.11.2022" (PDF). ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. 16 November 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Listing of Homi Bhabha National Institute as deemed university". ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ a b "List of (Private) Universities as on 25.11.2022" (PDF). www.ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Autonomous Bodies – Higher Education". education.nic.in. Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
- ^ "Agricultural Education Division | Indian Council of Agricultural Research". icar.org.in. Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ "Universities | Indian Council of Agricultural Research". icar.org.in. Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ "UGC releases list of 24 fake universities". pib.nic.in (Press release). University Grants Commission. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
- ^ "State-wise List of fake Universities as on October, 2020". www.ugc.ac.in. University Grants Commission. 7 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
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