The Joint Committee on the controversial Viksit Bharat Siksha Adhisthan Bill, 2025, has begun its meeting. The panel, with members from JDU, BJD, and BJP, will hear views from domain experts, including heads of top academic institutions.
Joint Committee Convenes, Seeks Expert Opinions
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Viksit Bharat Siksha Adhisthan Bill, 2025 (VBSA) commenced on Tuesday. The meeting will be attended by Janata Dal United's (JDU) Sanjay Kumar Jha, Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) Sasmit Patra and Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bansuri Swaraj and Sudhanshu Trivedi.
The Committee will focus on hearing the views of domain experts. Notably, the Director of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Shireesh Kedare, the Vice-Chancellor of SASTRA Deemed University, S Vaidhyasubramaniam, Vice-Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University, Ananya Mukherjee, and the Director of IITDM are expected to present their opinions during the meeting.
Bill Faces Opposition Over Autonomy Concerns
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill 2025 has faced severe opposition since its proposal. Previously, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had raised concerns that it could have a grave impact on the academic autonomy of Institutes of National Importance (INIs), which include the IITs, IIMs, NITs, IIITs, and IISERs.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, is a part of the Centre's plan to restructure higher education regulation by replacing existing bodies with a new framework. Introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 15, 2025, the proposed legislation is currently under review by a parliamentary panel. Further details are expected to be revealed at the conclusion of the meeting. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)