Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill: The Catastrophic Implications for Higher Education in India
Anand Teltumbde | 14 December 2025 | Outlook
The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill—formerly known as the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill—marks a watershed moment in Indian education, and not in a positive sense. Presented as a reform to streamline the “fragmented” regulatory landscape, this legislation threatens to deliver the final blow to an already crumbling higher education ecosystem.
By replacing the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with a single super-regulator, the government claims to be promoting autonomy, reducing red tape and fostering excellence. The reality, however, is far more sinister: unprecedented centralisation of power, systematic destruction of institutional autonomy, forced commercialisation through debt-based funding, and the effective subjugation of India's universities to direct political control….