University System in India

Hello sir, I am Pappu Gandhi. I am from Delhi. I want you to help me by giving me some information about the university system in India. Can you help me?

[Shaleen]

India's higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to the United States and China.
The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state.
Indian higher education system has expanded at a fast pace by adding nearly 20,000 colleges and more than 8 million students in a decade.

As of 2011, India has 42 central universities, 275 state universities, 130 deemed universities, 90 private universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 33 Institutes of National Importance.

Other institutions include 33,000 colleges as Government Degree Colleges and Private Degree Colleges, including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions.

Universities in India have evolved in divergent streams with each stream monitored by an apex body, indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and funded jointly by the state governments.

Most universities are administered by the States, however, there are 18 important universities called Central Universities, which are maintained by the Union Government.

Indian law requires that universities be accredited unless created through an act of Parliament. Without accreditation, the government notes, "These fake institutions have no legal entity to call themselves as University/Vishwvidyalaya and to award ‘degree’ which are not treated as valid for academic/employment purposes."

There is no domestic ranking system for India. However, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has developed, after wide consultations, 50 indicators, assimilated into seven criteria, as Quality Benchmarks for accreditation of Universities.

The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an Inter University Centre (IUC) under the UGC, has reported that there are 150 areas in which research has been undertaken in 37 Central Universities.