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:
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]
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]
The table below is correct as of 14 November 2023 [update] .
State | Central universities [4] | State universities [5] | Deemed universities [8] | Private universities [10] | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andhra Pradesh (list) | 3 | 28 | 4 | 6 | 41 |
Arunachal Pradesh (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
Assam (list) | 2 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 30 |
Bihar (list) | 4 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 32 |
Chandigarh (list) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Chhattisgarh (list) | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 33 |
Delhi (list) | 7 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 27 |
Goa (list) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Gujarat (list) | 2 | 30 | 2 | 63 | 97 |
Haryana (list) | 1 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 51 |
Himachal Pradesh (list) | 1 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 25 |
Jammu and Kashmir (list) | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Jharkhand (list) | 1 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 33 |
Karnataka (list) | 1 | 42 | 14 | 25 | 82 |
Kerala (list) | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
Ladakh (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Madhya Pradesh (list) | 2 | 24 | 1 | 51 | 78 |
Maharashtra (list) | 1 | 29 | 21 | 26 | 77 |
Manipur (list) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
Meghalaya (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
Mizoram (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Nagaland (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
Odisha (list) | 1 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 35 |
Puducherry (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
Punjab (list) | 1 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 35 |
Rajasthan (list) | 1 | 26 | 8 | 52 | 87 |
Sikkim (list) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
Tamil Nadu (list) | 2 | 22 | 28 | 4 | 56 |
Telangana (list) | 3 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
Tripura (list) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Uttar Pradesh (list) | 6 | 33 [note 1] | 8 | 35 | 82 |
Uttarakhand (list) | 1 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 38 |
West Bengal (list) | 1 | 37 | 2 | 11 | 51 |
Total | 56 | 478 [note 1] | 124 | 455 | 1113 [note 1] |
In India, a deemed university or deemed-to-be-university is an accreditation granted to higher educational institutions in India by the Ministry of Education. According to the ministry's definition, the accreditation indicates, "an Institution of higher education, other than universities, working at a very high standard in specific area of study" and the accreditation grants "the academic status and privileges of a university."
University Grants Commission is a statutory body under Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India. It was set up in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher education in India. It provides recognition to universities in India, and disbursements of funds to such recognized universities and colleges. The UGC headquarters are in New Delhi, and it has six regional centres in Pune, Bhopal, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Guwahati and Bangalore. A proposal to replace it with another new regulatory body called HECI is under consideration by the Government of India. The UGC provides doctoral scholarships to all those who clear JRF in the National Eligibility Test. On an average, each year ₹725 crore (US$91 million) is spent on doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships by the commission.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president. It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.
The Annamalai University is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. The university also provides more than 500 courses through distance education. With over 32,480 students residing on campus, it is one of the largest teaching, and residential universities in Asia, and is among the most reputed and ranked universities in India including the rankings from NIRF, QS World University Rankings, Times University Rankings, CWTS Leiden Ranking, India Today Magazine, India Today MDRA, AISHE, ARIIA, SCImago Institutions Rankings.
Central universities in India are public universities established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, except for nine universities which are under the purview of other ministries. In general, universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination. Central universities, in addition, are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers, governance etc., and established 12 new universities.
Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research (BIHER) also known as Bharath Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), informally Bharath University, and formerly Bharath Engineering College is a private deemed university located in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. It is recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with the highest grade of A. It is also approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Lovely Professional University (LPU) is a private university located in Chaheru, Phagwara, Punjab, India. The university was established in 2005 by Lovely International Trust, through the Lovely Professional University Act, 2005 and started operation in 2006.
The Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) is a Deemed to be a University and institution of higher learning for fisheries science in Mumbai, India. CIFE has over four decades of leadership in human resource development with its alumni aiding in the development of fisheries and aquaculture worldwide, producing notable contributions to research and technological advancements to their credit.
India has a publicly funded higher education system that is the third largest in the world. The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 15 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Agricultural Universities (AUs) are mostly public universities in India that are engaged in teaching, research and extension in agriculture and related disciplines. In India, agricultural education has evolved into a large and distinct domain, often separately from other areas of higher education. Many of these universities are member of a registered society, the Indian Agricultural Universities Association. Indian Council of Agricultural Research is the main regulatory authority of agricultural education in India, while the disciplines of veterinary medicine and forestry are regulated by the Veterinary Council of India and Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education respectively. Based on the statutes establishing these universities, agricultural universities in India can be grouped into various types.
Centurion University of Technology and Management is a multi-sector, private university from Odisha, India. With its main campus earlier at Parlakhemundi in the Gajapati and another constituent campus located at Jatni, on the fringes of Bhubaneswar,which is now as main campus & it was accorded the status of a university in the year 2010. The university has been accredited by NAAC with 'A' Grade, thereby becoming the youngest private university to have earned the distinction. In 2016, the Bhubaneswar campus of the university was ranked 81 among the institutions offering engineering education in India by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India under the NIRF.
India has the largest numbers of engineers as well as the largest number of engineering education institutes and infrastructure in the world. As of 2021, India annually produces 1.5 million engineering graduates. India's technical education infrastructure includes 2500 engineering colleges, 1400 polytechnics and 200 schools of planning and architecture.