NEW DELHI: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday stressed that the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adishtan Bill 2025 would neither impact the autonomy of institutions nor clip the powers of states in any way.

Briefing the media at Shastri Bhavan, Pradhan said, “There is no threat to institutional autonomy and even if the opposition has some concerns or misconceptions, they can be addressed by the Joint Parliamentary Committee.” The bill has been referred to a committee comprising 21 members of the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, he added.

In a first, the bill brings Institutions of National Importance (INIs) like the IIT and IIMs within its ambit. The bill, previously known as the Higher Education Council of India Bill, brings the functions performed by the present education regulators - the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) under the ambit of a single commission and three autonomous Councils.