Central universities or union universities in India are established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Union Human Resource Development Ministry.[1] In general, universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.[2][3] In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination.[4] Central universities, in addition, are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers governance etc., and established 12 new universities.[5] The list of central universities published by the UGC includes 47 central universities as of 29 June 2017.[6]
Other types of universities controlled by the UGC include:
State universities are run by the state government of each of the states and territories of India, and are usually established by a local legislative assembly act.[7][8]
Deemed university, or "Deemed-to-be-University", is a status of autonomy granted by the Department of Higher Education on the advice of the UGC, under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956.[9][10]
Private universities are approved by the UGC. They can grant degrees but they are not allowed to have off-campus affiliated colleges.[11][12]
Apart from the above universities, other institutions are granted the permission to autonomously award degrees. These institutes do not affiliate colleges and are not officially called "universities" but "autonomous organisations" or "autonomous institutes". They fall under the administrative control of the Department of Higher Education.[13] These organisations include the Indian Institutes of Technology, the National Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, the Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management (though these award diplomas, not degrees),[14] the National Law Schools, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and other autonomous institutes.