Purandeswari to Head Parliamentary Panel Reviewing Viksit Bharat Education Bill

A 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has been constituted to examine the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 , a landmark legislation aimed at establishing a single regulatory authority for higher education in the country. BJP MP from Andhra Pradesh, Daggubati Purandeswari , will chair the committee.

According to a notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the panel comprises members from both Houses of Parliament. The committee will scrutinize the provisions of the proposed legislation in detail and submit its recommendations to Parliament.

Aim: One Unified Higher Education Regulator

The primary objective of the Bill is to overhaul India’s higher education regulatory framework in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 .

The Bill also seeks to structurally separate key functions such as accreditation, funding, and academic standard-setting to ensure greater transparency and efficiency within the system.

In light of concerns raised by opposition parties particularly regarding federalism, institutional autonomy, and possible centralisation of powers the government decided to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider consultation and examination.

Composition of the Committee

The JPC includes 10 members from the Rajya Sabha and 21 members from the Lok Sabha, representing multiple political parties.

Members from the Rajya Sabha include Surendra Singh Nagar, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Pradeep Kumar Verma, Meenakshi Jain, Digvijaya Singh, Sagarika Ghose, Sasmit Patra, M. Thambidurai, Sanjay Kumar Jha and Ram Gopal Yadav.

From the Lok Sabha, members include D. Purandeswari, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sambit Patra, Tejasvi Surya, Anurag Singh Thakur, Bansuri Swaraj, Vivek Thakur, Hemang Joshi, Brij Mohan Agrawal, Varsha Gaikwad, Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Vamsi Krishna Gaddam, E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Lalji Verma, Saugata Roy, T.R. Baalu, Sribharat Mathukumilli and Alok Kumar Suman, among others.

The committee is expected to seek inputs from state governments, academic institutions, and other stakeholders before finalising its report.

Reform Efforts: A Long History

The push for a unified higher education regulator is not new. Over the past four decades, several committees and legislative attempts have sought similar reforms.

• Yashpal Committee (2009): Recommended dismantling multiple regulators like UGC and AICTE and replacing them with a single authority.

• National Knowledge Commission (2009): Proposed the creation of a National Higher Education Authority as an independent regulator.

• Higher Education and Research Bill (2011): Introduced based on Yashpal Committee recommendations but did not materialise.

• Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill (2018): Sought to replace the UGC Act but faced criticism over concerns of excessive centralisation.

The present Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 15, 2025, and was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee the following day for detailed review.

With higher education reforms under discussion for decades, the upcoming deliberations of the JPC are expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future regulatory architecture of India’s academic landscape.