Former UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan appointed NAAC executive committee chairperson

NEW DELHI: Former vice-chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Bhushan Patwardhan has been appointed as chairperson of the executive committee of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

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Patwardhan is currently the chairperson of the interdisciplinary AYUSH R&D task force on Covid-19 and a member of an advisory committee constituted by the Ministry of AYUSH. He served as the vice-chairman of UGC until March 2021.

Patwardhan has over 40 years of experience in higher education, scientific research, and institutional governance. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medical Sciences India. He is also a member of the National Board of Examination, and Lancet Citizen's Commission.

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Earlier, he was Professor and Director at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) as well as Vice-Chancellor, Deemed University in Pune. He has worked on Boards of several Universities and member of important national committees of the Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Education, CSIR, DST, DBT, ICMR, and policy-making committees and Taskforces of NITI Aayog, National Knowledge Commission, Planning Commission, United Nations Organizations, UNESCAP, World Bank and temporary consultant to the WHO Geneva.

NAAC was established in 1994 as an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC) with its HeadQuarter in Bengaluru. The mandate of NAAC as reflected in its vision statement is in making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).