VBSA Bill: MP Purandeswari to head joint panel; report deadline extended to last week of Monsoon session

The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed D Purandeswari, Member of the Parliament (MP), as the chairperson of the 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee established to examine the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, which seeks to overhaul the higher education regulatory framework.

As per the official announcement, the 31-member panel consists of 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The panel was constituted on Tuesday.

A resolution moved by the newly appointed chairperson D Purandeswari to extend time for the presentation of the report of the joint committee on VBSA up to the first day of the last week of the Monsoon session was adopted by a voice vote, the PTI reported.

The House also adopted another motion to extend time for the presentation of the report of the select committee of the Lok Sabha on the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025 up to March 13.

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VBSA Bill: Members of joint committee

Members of the Joint Committee on the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025:

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The VBSA Bill was introduced during the Winter session to establish a single higher education regulator.

Currently, India has around 60,000 higher education institutions and 1,200 universities, which function under three regulatory bodies – the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).