On December 15, Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 in Lok Sabha. Its purpose is to empower Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) of the country to achieve excellence through effective coordination and the determination of standards. The Bill was introduced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval on December 12. According to the education ministry, the Bill is set to implement the vision of the National Education Policy 2020, with a focus on placing students at the centre of higher education reforms. It aims to promote flexibility, interdisciplinary learning, and a focus on quality research and innovation. As per the Bill, a new top body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan will be set up, along with three councils—a Regulatory Council, an Accreditation Council and a Standards Council. It also proposes scrapping the existing laws that govern the UGC, AICTE and NCTE. All higher education institutions currently overseen by these bodies will now come under the new Adhishthan for setting standards. The Bill follows the government’s assessment that higher education institutions currently face too many approvals and inspections from multiple regulators, leading to unnecessary control and over regulation. To address this, the Bill aims to simplify the system by creating a single, streamlined regulatory structure. According to a government release, the new framework will rely on technology-driven, faceless, single window systems that work on principles of self disclosure and trust-based regulation. The proposed Bill, which is yet to pass in the Lok Sabha, also seeks to enhance the quality and international credibility of Indian institutions, positioning Bharat as a global knowledge hub. Also Read: Home or overseas education: Which is better?Opposition ViewThe opposition views the Bill as problematic. Senior Congress MP Manish Tewari warns that it represents “excessive centralisation” by giving the Union government disproportionate control over education policy, weakening states’ constitutional powers and limiting institutional autonomy in governance and appointments. RSP MP NK Premachandran also criticised the Bill for imposing central directives on universities established by states, conflicting with the federal balance introduced through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which was intended to protect state-specific needs in education. In light of these objections and the broader opposition pushback, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the government would refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for deeper examination, acknowledging multiple requests raised during the Business Advisory Committee meeting.Recent government initiatives Over the past few years, the government has launched some of the most far reaching education reforms in decades, driven primarily through the phased implementation of the National Education Policy 2020-2025. These reforms include a structural shift to the 5+3+3+4 model, replacing the traditional 10+2 system, and expansion of multilingual learning by offering engineering and medical courses in regional languages. In recent years, higher education has undergone major restructuring with the adoption of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme by over 105 universities, as well as the expansion of the Common University Entrance Test, which now governs most undergraduate admissions. Additional investments in higher education include the establishment of National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, major expansions across IITs, the creation of a ₹500 crore Centre of Excellence in AI for Education, and large-scale additions in medical seats.