NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal to set up a single higher education regulator to replace multiple bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Sources said the government is likely to present a bill in the ongoing Parliament session, which concludes on December 19. The bill—previously called the Higher Education Commission of India Bill—has been renamed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.

The move is in line with the National Education Policy, which moots a new unified body to subsume UGC, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

However, medical and law colleges will remain outside the new regulator’s scope, sources said.

An official told this paper that the unified regulator is expected to have three major functions: regulation, accreditation and the setting of professional standards. Funding—considered the fourth pillar—is not expected to come under the regulator at this stage, with financial autonomy proposed to remain with the administrative ministry.

Opening nuclear sector

The Cabinet is also learnt to have approved a bill that seeks to open up the civil nuclear power sector for private participation. Called the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, the proposed legislation aims to help the country achieve its target of 100 giga watts of atomic energy capacity by 2047.