India, May 20 -- The education ministry has told a parliamentary committee reviewing the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill that the law will not alter the status or functioning of state universities, while defending provisions allowing institutions to open off-campus and offshore centres subject to approvals.

In written replies to the 31-member joint parliamentary committee examining the bill, the ministry said the legislation supplements rather than supplants state governments and does not alter the governance structure of universities established under state laws.

The ministry also argued that Parliament has long exercised powers over higher education regulation, noting that the University Grants Commission (UGC) w...