New Delhi, 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) was created in 1956 when education was still a state subject. According to the ministry, the proposed Regulatory Council under the VBSA framework will not exceed the current role exercised by the UGC, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). Defending provisions related to off-campus and offshore centres, the ministry said existing UGC regulations already allow such expansion subject to conditions including accreditation, minimum years of operation and prior approvals. The VBSA Bill, introduced in Parliament in December 2025, seeks to replace the UGC, AICTE and NCTE with a 12-member commission overseeing separate councils for regulation, standards and accreditation under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 framework. The ministry also said the proposed structure explicitly provides representation for state governments and state higher education institutions, unlike the UGC Act, 1956....