About UGC :

The present system of higher education dates back to Mountstuart Elphinstone's minutes of 1823,
which stressed on the need for establishing schools for teaching English and the European
sciences. Later, Lord Macaulay, in his minutes of 1835, advocated "efforts to make natives of the
country thoroughly good English scholars". Sir Charles Wood's Dispatch of 1854, famously
known as the ' Magna Carta of English Education in India', recommended creating a properly
articulated scheme of education from the primary school to the university. It sought to encourage
indigenous education and planned the formulation of a coherent policy of education.
Subsequently, the universities of Calcutta, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras were set up in
1857, followed by the university of Allahabad in 1887.

The Inter-University Board (later known as the Association of Indian Universities) was established
in 1925 to promote university activities, by sharing information and cooperation in the field of
education, culture, sports and allied areas.

The first attempt to formulate a national system of education in India came In 1944, with the
Report of the Central Advisory Board of Education on Post War Educational Development in
India, also known as the Sargeant Report. It recommended the formation of a University Grants
Committee, which was formed in 1945 to oversee the work of the three Central Universities of
Aligarh, Banarasand Delhi. In 1947, the Committee was entrusted with the responsibility of
dealing with all the then existing Universities.

Soon after Independence, the University Education Commission was set up in 1948 under
the Chairmanship of Dr. S Radhakrishnan "to report on Indian university education and
suggest improvements and extensions that might be desirable to suit the present and
future needs and aspirations of the country". It recommended that the University Grants
Committee be reconstituted on the general model of the University Grants Commission of the
United Kingdom with a full-time Chairman and other members to be appointed from amongst
educationists of repute.

In 1952, the Union Government decided that all cases pertaining to the allocation of grants-in-aid
from public funds to the Central Universities and other Universities and Institutions of higher
learning might be referred to the University Grants Commission. Consequently, the University
Grants Commission (UGC) was formally inaugurated by late Shri Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad, the then Minister of Education, Natural Resources and Scientific Research on 28
December 1953.

 The UGC, however, was formally established only in November 1956 as a statutory body of the
Government of India through an Act of Parliament for the coordination, determination and
maintenance of standards of university education in India. In order to ensure effective region-wise
coverage throughout the country, the UGC has decentralised its operations by setting up six
regional centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore. The head office
of the UGC is located at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi, with two additional bureaus
operating from 35, Feroze Shah Road and the South Campus of University of Delhi as well.

Background
It was something that Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said during his speech on the occasion of
the initiation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Golden Jubilee Year on 28 December, 2002 that
sparked off the idea of revisiting the old UGC logo. In his speech, Shri Vajpayee spoke of the need to take
a fresh look at the UGC Act, 1956 in the light of the new challenges for the education sector emerging in
the twenty-first century. He also suggested that the Commission could consider changing its name to the
`University Education Development Commission. This name truly captures the changed role of the UGC
in recent years.
Traditionally, UGC was entrusted with the task of co-ordination, formulation and maintenance of the
standards of university education. To this end, it engaged itself in, among other things, framing regulations
on minimum standards of education, determining standards of teaching, examination and research in
universities, monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and university education, disbursing grants
to universities and colleges and setting up common facilities, services and programmes for a group of
universities in the form of Inter-University Centres.

Mandate
The UGC has the unique distinction of being the only grant-giving agency in the country which has been
vested with two responsibilities: that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and
maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education.
The UGC's mandate includes:

Promoting and coordinating university education.

Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination and research in universities.
Framing regulations on minimum standards of education.
Monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and university education; disbursing grants to
the universities and colleges.
Serving as a vital link between the Union and state governments and institutions of higher
learning.
Advising the Central and State governments on the measures necessary for improvement of
university education.

Prof. Ved Prakash, Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi

Prof. H. Devaraj, Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi

Prof. Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Secretary, University Grants Commission,
New Delhi
UGC Regional Offices
Objectives
Pursuance to the National Policy on Education (1986), the UGC de-centralised its working by opening
seven regional offices catering to the states under it. The objectives of setting up these offices were to
bring about de-centralisation and to ensure that a large number of colleges through out the country, which
are covered under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, will have better opportunites of response to
their needs and problems by way of easier access.

Schemes
The following schemes are being implemented by the regional offices

Development of Colleges affiliated to State Universities

Minor Research Projects for College teachers

Autonomous Colleges

Seminar/Symposia/Conference etc. for colleges

Construction of Women's Hostel (Special scheme)

Award of Teacher Fellowship to College Teachers for doing M.Phil/Ph.D.

Financial assistance to Teachers - Visually Handicapped (Blind)

President as visitor of institutes of higher learning

President of India as the Visitor of Central Institutions
The President of India is the Visitor of 114 central institutions. This includes
Central Universities, NITs, IITs, IISERs etc. under the administrative control of

Ministry of HRD. Some of the institutions are under the administrative control of
Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of
Sports, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers. The powers of the
President as a Visitor of these institutions are defined in their respective Acts .

An extract of the powers of the President in one of the Central Universities Act
(BHU Act) is as under:

Visitor

The President of India shall be the Visitor of the University.

The Visitor shall have the right to cause an inspection to be made by such person
or persons as he may direct, of the University, its buildings, laboratories and equipment
of any College and of any institution maintained by the University and also of the
examinations, teaching and other work conducted or done by the University and to
cause an inquiry to be made in like manner in respect of any matter connected with the
university.
The Visitor shall in every case give notice to the University of his intention to
cause an inspection or inquiry to be made, and the University shall be entitled to
appoint a representative who shall have the right to be present and be heard at such
inspection or inquiry.
The Visitor may address the Vice-Chancellor with reference to the result of such
inspection and inquiry, and the Vice-Chancellor shall communicate to the Executive
Council the views of the Visitor with such advice as the Visitor may offer upon the action
to be taken thereon.
The Executive Council shall communicate through the Vice-Chancellor to the
Visitor such action, if any, as it is proposed to take or has been taken upon the result of
such inspection or inquiry.
Where the Executive Council does not within a reasonable time, take action to
the satisfaction of the Visitor, the Visitor may, after considering any explanation
furnished or representation made by the Executive Council, issue such directions as he
may think fit and the Executive Council shall be bound to comply with such directions.
Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this Section the Visitor may, by
order in writing, annul any proceeding of the University which is not in conformity with
this
Act,
the
Statutes
or
the
Ordinances:
Provided that before making any such order, he shall call upon the University to show
cause why such an order should not be made and if any cause is shown within a
reasonable time shall consider the same.

The President, as Visitor of the central universities, has revived the tradition of the
Conference of Vice Chancellors in the year 2013. Since then, the Conference of Vice

Chancellors of central universities is held annually in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Visitor

has also started the tradition of holding the annual conference of Directors of NITs and
the first Conference of the Directors of NITs was held in November, 2013.
The President, as the Visitor of institutes of higher learning, has laid emphasis on
quality of education and international collaboration. To adopt the global best practices,
the President has started a tradition of including the Vice Chancellors and Directors of
central universities and NITs respectively, in the Presidential delegation during his visits
abroad.

University Grants Commission (UGC)

The University Grants Commission is a statutory organization established by an Act of
Parliament in 1956 for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of
university education. Apart from providing grants to eligible universities and colleges, the
Commission also advises the Central and State Governments on the measures which are
necessary for the development of Higher Education. It functions from New Delhi as well as its
six Regional offices located in Bangalore, Bhopal, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.

For more details, click here: www.ugc.ac.in

All India Council For Technical Education

(AICTE)
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) was set up in 1945 as an advisory body
and later on in 1987 given the statutory status by an Act of Parliament. The AICTE grants
approval for starting new technical institutions, for introduction of new courses and for variation
in intake capacity in technical institutions. The AICTE has delegated to the concerned state
governments powers to process and grant approval of new institutions, starting new courses
and variations in the intake capacity for diploma level technical institutions. It also lays down
norms and standards for such institutions. It also ensures quality development of technical
education through accreditation of technical institutions or programmes. In additional to its
regulatory role, the AICTE also has a promotional role which it implements through schemes for
promoting technical education for women, handicapped and weaker section of the society
promoting innovations, faculty, research and development, giving grants to technical institutions.

The technical institutions under the AICTE include post-graduate, under-graduate and diploma
in the whole spectrum of technical education covering engineering/technology, pharmacy,
architecture, hotel management and catering technology, management studies computer
applications and applied arts and crafts.
The AICTE has its headquarters in New Delhi and seven regional offices located at Kolkata,
Chennai, Kanpur, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Bangalore. A new regional office at
Hyderabad has been set up and is to be operational soon.
The Council discharges its functions through an Executive Committee.

For more details, click here: www.aicte-india.org

Council Of Architecture (COA)

The Council of Architecture (COA) has been constituted by the Government of India under the
provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, enacted by Parliament, which came into force on
September 1, 1972. The Act provides for registration of Architects and matters connected
therewith. The COA, besides maintaining a Register of Architects, oversees the maintenance of
standards, periodically of recognized qualifications under the Act by way of conducting
inspection through Committees of Experts. Based on the inspections, the COA can make
representation to appropriate Governments with regard to inadequacy of standards maintained
by the institutions. The Central Government after further inquiry as deemed fit and keeping in
view the comments of the appropriate Governments and the architecture institutions is required
to take decision regarding notifying de-recognition of the architectural qualification. The
recommendations of the COA are taken before any architectural qualification is notified as
recognized under the Act by the Central Government.

For more details, click here: www.coa.gov.in

Higher Education sector has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of

Universities/University level Institutions & Colleges since Independence. The number of
Universities has increased 34 times from 20 in 1950 to 677 in 2014. The sector boasts of 45
Central Universities of which 40 are under the purview of Ministry of Human Resource
Development, 318 State Universities, 185 State Private universities, 129 Deemed to be
Universities, 51 Institutions of National Importance (established under Acts of Parliament) under
MHRD (IITs - 16, NITs 30 and IISERs 5) and four Institutions (established under various
State legislations). The number of colleges has also registered manifold increase of 74 times
with just 500 in 1950 growing to 37,204, as on 31st March, 2013.

The quantum growth in the Higher Education sector is spear-headed by Universities, which are
the highest seats of learning.
In India, "University" means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a
Provincial Act or a State Act and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the
University concerned, be recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in
accordance with the regulations made in this regard under the UGC Act, 1956. Every year,
millions of students from within the country and abroad, enter these portals mainly for their
graduate, post graduate studies while millions leave these portals for the world outside.
Higher Education is the shared responsibility of both the Centre and the States. The
coordination and determination of standards in Universities & Colleges is entrusted to the UGC
and other statutory regulatory bodies.
The Central Government provides grants to the UGC and establishes Central
Universities/Institutions of National Importance in the country. The Central Government is also
responsible for declaring an educational institution as "Deemed-to-be University" on the
recommendations of the UGC.

At present, the main categories of University/University-level Institutions are :- Central

Universities, State Universities, Deemed-to-be Universities and University-level
institutions. These are described as follows:
Central University:
A university established or incorporated by a Central Act.
State University:
A university established or incorporated by a Provincial Act or by a State Act.
Private University:
A university established through a State/Central Act by a sponsoring body viz. A Society
registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, or any other corresponding law for
the time being in force in a State or a Public Trust or a Company registered under
Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

Deemed-To-Be University:
An Institution Deemed to be University, commonly known as Deemed University, refers
to a high-performing institution, which has been so declared by Central Government
under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956.
Institution Of National Importance:
An Institution established by Act of Parliament and declared as Institution of National
Importance.
Institution Under State Legislature Act:
An Institution established or incorporated by a State Legislature Act.

India has entered into Educational Exchange Programmes (EEPs)/Memorandum of

Understandings (MoUs) or through Joint Statements with 51 countries viz Mongolia,
Armenia, Tanzania, Guyana, Israel, Australia, Myanmar, Hungary, Syria, Uzbekistan,
New Zealand, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Brazil, Afghanistan, Croatia, Ecuador,
Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, China, Portugal, France, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Oman, South Africa,
Norway, Chile, Kuwait, Botswana, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Canada, Indonesia,
Mozambique, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Yemen, Qatar, Tajikistan, Burundi,
Belarus, Republic of Korea, Germany, Estonia U.S.A., United Kingdom, Czech Republic
and Peru.
The EEPs/ MOUs envisage cooperation through several initiatives like:

Exchange of scholars/ students/ researchers;

Sharing of information/ publications;
Organizing joint seminars/ workshops/ conferences etc.;
Working towards mutual recognition of qualifications; and
Developing institutional linkages
India also has educational cooperation activities with different international organizations and
multi-lateral bodies like UNESCO, Commonwealth of Learning, E-9. BRICS, SAARC, IndiaBrazil-South Africa (IBSA), East Asia Summit (EAS), Association of South-East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Union (EU) etc.

Recent Initiatives
Nepal
During the Indo-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting
held on 26th July, 2014, India announced a prgramme entitled Bharat Nepal Shiksha
Maitri Karyakram for the students from Nepal. The Programme would be a 4-6 week
attachment programme for undergraduate students from Nepal. It aims at promoting
awareness on different facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in
various fields e.g. economic and industrial development, Science & Technology,
Communication & Information Technology, Indian education, art, culture, etc. It would
offer short term courses in the form of summer/winter schools to familiarize the
Nepalese students about the significant developments taking place in different sectors.
Such short term courses shall aim at providing an opportunity to the target young minds
to better understand and appreciate contemporary India, foster closer ties and enhance
their engagement with India. Entire cost of the programme would be borne by the
Government of India.
Bharat Nepal Shiksha Maitri Karyakram-

Bhutan

During the recent visit of Honble Prime Minister of India to Bhutan, it was proposed that
Government of India would provide assistance for the establishment of the digital
section/ E-library in the National Library of Bhutan and in all 20 districts of Bhutan.
Scholarship is a boon for students, belonging to the weaker sections of the society, who
are unable to further their education for some reason or the other. Scholarship is an
incentive as well as encouragement for students, who are talented, but do not have the
means to study further. There are a variety of scholarships merit-based, need-based,
student-specific, career-specific, and college-specific. The Ministry offers National as
well as External Scholarships to the needy students.

The National Scholarships Of The Ministry Are:

Central Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students

Scheme for Scholarship to Students From Non-Hindi Speaking States for Post Matric Studies in Hindi

Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities A Scheme of Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment

Special Scholarship Scheme for Jammu & Kashmir

The External Scholarships Offered Through The Ministry Are:

At present, the Ministry is administering scholarships from three main sources:

Commonwealth Scholarships for United Kingdom and New Zealand

Scholarships offered by China, Korea, Israel, Japan, Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

Agatha Harrison Memorial Fellowship which is fully funded by Government of India

The Ministry also issue No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) Certificate required by
Indian Immigrants in Canada, USA, Singapore, etc.

Overview
The Department of Higher Education, MHRD, is responsible for the overall development of the
basic infrastructure of Higher Education sector, both in terms of policy and planning. Under a
planned development process, the Department looks after expansion of access and qualitative
improvement in the Higher Education, through world class Universities, Colleges and other
Institutions. The Vision, Mission, Objectives and Functions of the Department are as under:-

Vision
To realize India's human resource potential to its fullest in the Higher Education sector, with
equity and inclusion.

Mission

Provide greater opportunities of access to Higher Education with equity to all the eligible persons
and in particular to the vulnerable sections.

Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, supporting State
Governments and Non-Government Organizations/civil society to supplement public efforts aimed at
removing regional or other imbalances that exist at present.

Initiate policies and programmes for strengthening research and innovations and encourage
institutions - public or private to engage in stretching the frontiers of knowledge.

Promote the quality of Higher Education by investing in infrastructure and faculty, promoting
academic reforms, improving governance and institutional restructuring toward the inclusion of the
hitherto deprived communities.

Objective

To expand the Higher Education sector in all is modes of delivery to increase the Gross
Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education to 15% by 2011-12 to 21% by 2016-17 and 30% by the year
2020.

To expand institutional base of Higher Education (including technical, professional and vocational
education) by creating additional capacity in existing institutions, establishing new institutions and
incentivizing State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations/civil society.

To expand institutional base of Higher Education (including technical, professional and vocational
education) by creating additional capacity in existing institutions, establishing new institutions and
incentivizing State Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations/civil society.

To provide opportunities of Higher Education to socially-deprived communities and remove

disparities by promoting the inclusion of women, minorities and differently-abled persons.

To remove regional imbalances in access to Higher Education by setting up of institutions in

unnerved and underserved areas.

To enhance plan support for infrastructure and faculty development in the institutions of higher
learning and to attract talent towards careers in teaching and research.

To create conditions for knowledge generation through improved research facilities in universities
and colleges.

To promote collaboration with International community, foreign governments,

universities/institutions and regional and international institutions, for the advancement of universal
knowledge and intellectual property rights.

To promote development of Indian languages.

To promote autonomy, innovations, academic reforms in institutions of higher learning

To undertake institutional restructuring for improving efficiency, relevance and creativity in Higher
Education.

Functions

Enhancement of Gross Enrolment Ratio by expanding access through all modes.

Promoting the participation of these sections of the society whose GER is lower than the national
average.

To improve quality and to promote academic reforms

Setting up of new educational institutions and also capacity expansion and improvement of the
existing institutions.

Use of Technology in Higher Education.

Development of Vocational Education and Skill Development.

Development of Indian Languages.

International Collaboration in the field of education.