| Vice-Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University | |
|---|---|
| Hindi: Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyaalay ke Kulpati | |
| BHU Flag flies atop vice-chancellor's car and office | |
| Style | The Hon'ble Vice-Chancellor [1] [2] |
| Type | Vice-chancellor |
| Status | Chief Executive of the Banaras Hindu University |
| Abbreviation | VC-BHU |
| Member of | Executive Council, Academic Council, and Finance Committee of the Banaras Hindu University |
| Reports to | Executive Council, University Court, and President of India |
| Residence | Cochin House, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India [3] |
| Seat | Central Office, Banaras Hindu University |
| Nominator | Ministry of Education |
| Appointer | President of India (Visitor of the university) |
| Term length | Three years Second term of fresh appointment possible. |
| Constituting instrument | Banaras Hindu University Act of 1915 |
| Formation | 1 April 1916 |
| First holder | Sir Sunder Lal |
| Deputy | The Rector of the Banaras Hindu University |
| Salary | ₹ 210,000 (US$2,500) monthly. Excluding other allowances [4] |
| Website | Official website |
The vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (VC-BHU) [5] [6] is the chief administrator, and a full-time salaried officer of the Banaras Hindu University. The vice-chancellor derives their powers from sections 7(B) and 7(C) of the Banaras Hindu University Act (BHU Act) and from the statutes of the said act. [7] [8]
Although the chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, preceding the vice-chancellor, is "head of the university" under the BHU Act, it is only a titular position. [9] The vice-chancellor is the principal executive and principal academic officer of the university. She or he is the ex-officio chairperson of the Executive Council, the Academic Council, and the Finance Committee of the university. [10]
Applications for the appointment of vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University are invited openly by the Ministry of Education, which shortlists candidates interviewed by its search committee. [11] The shortlisted candidates are recommended to the President of India. Upon their satisfaction, the president appoints the vice-chancellor. [4] [12] Per the BHU Act, vice-chancellors of the university have a three-year tenure in the office. They are, however, eligible for a second term of appointment upon expiration of the first term with preferably not more than 67 years of age. [13] The maximum age for holding the office is 70 years. [14] When a vice-chancellor leaves office by the means of retirement, resignation, death, or ill-health, the rector assumes the office as officiating vice-chancellor to avoid interregnum. [15] [6]
During the British Indian and Indian Dominion administration, the appointments were made by the Governor General. [16]
There have been 29 vice-chancellors since the establishment of the university. [17] [15] Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi was appointed as the 29th Vice-Chancellor in July 2025, and took charge on 1 August 2025. [18] [19]
The vice-chancellors of Banaras Hindu University, in chronological order, are as follows: [20]
| No. | Image | Name | Period of office [20] | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Rai Bahadur | 1 April 1916 | 13 April 1918 |
|
| 2 | | Sir P.S. Sivaswami Iyer | 13 April 1918 | 8 May 1919 |
|
| 3 | Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya | 29 November 1919 | 20 August 1939 | ||
| 4 | | Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 17 September 1939 | 16 January 1948 |
|
| 5 | | Amarnath Jha | 27 February 1948 | 5 December 1948 | [26] |
| 6 | | Pandit Govind Malaviya | 6 December 1948 | 21 November 1951 |
|
| 7 | | Acharya Narendra Dev | 6 December 1951 | 31 May 1954 | [29] [30] [31] |
| 8 | | Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer | 1 July 1954 | 2 July 1956 | [32] [33] |
| 9 | | Veni Shankar Jha | 3 July 1956 | 16 April 1960 | [34] [35] |
| 10 | | N. H. Bhagwati | 16 April 1960 | 15 April 1966 | [36] |
| 11 | | Triguna Sen | 9 October 1966 | 15 March 1967 | [37] |
| 12 | | A. C. Joshi | 1 September 1967 | 31 July 1969 | [38] |
| 13 | | Kalu Lal Shrimali | 1 November 1969 | 31 January 1977 |
|
| 14 | | Moti Lal Dhar | 2 February 1977 | 15 December 1977 |
|
| 15 | | Hari Narain | 15 May 1978 | 14 May 1981 | [41] |
| 16 | | Iqbal Narain | 19 October 1981 | 29 April 1985 | [42] |
| 17 | | R. P. Rastogi | 30 April 1985 | 29 April 1991 | [43] |
| 18 | | C. S. Jha | 1 May 1991 | 14 June 1993 | [44] |
| 19 | | D. N. Mishra | 8 February 1994 | 27 June 1995 | [45] |
| 20 | | Hari Gautam | 2 August 1995 | 25 August 1998 | [46] |
| 21 | | Y. C. Simhadri | 31 August 1998 | 20 February 2002 | [47] |
| 22 | | Patcha Ramachandra Rao | 20 February 2002 | 19 February 2005 |
|
| 23 | | Panjab Singh | 3 May 2005 | 7 May 2008 | [49] |
| 24 | | D. P. Singh | 8 May 2008 | 21 August 2011 |
|
| 25 | | Lalji Singh | 22 August 2011 | 21 August 2014 | |
| 26 | | Girish Chandra Tripathi | 27 November 2014 | 26 November 2017 |
|
| 27 | | Rakesh Bhatnagar | 28 March 2018 | 28 March 2021 | [57] |
| 28 | | Sudhir K. Jain | 7 January 2022 | 7 January 2025 | [20] |
| 29 | | Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi | 1 August 2025 | Incumbent | |
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