Central university (India)

Central universities in India are public universities established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education,^[1] except for nine universities which are under the purview of other ministries.^[2] In general, universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.^[3] In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination.^[4] Central universities, in addition, are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers, governance etc., and established 12 new universities.^[5] As of June 2023,^[update] the list of central universities published by the UGC includes 56 central universities.^[2]

The main entrance gate of Banaras Hindu University, first central university of India (founded and centralised in 1916).

The main entrance gate of Aligarh Muslim University, second central university of India (founded and centralised in 1920).

Universities by state

The region with the most central universities in India is Delhi with seven universities. There are central universities in all of the states of India except Goa. Of the union territories, there are central universities in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry.

The University of Delhi is one of the seven central universities in Delhi.

Central universities by state
and union territory

State / union territory	Central universities
Andhra Pradesh	3
Arunachal Pradesh	1
Assam	2
Bihar	4
Chhattisgarh	1
Delhi	7
Gujarat	2
Haryana	1
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir	2
Jharkhand	1
Karnataka
Kerala
Ladakh
Madhya Pradesh	2
Maharashtra	1
Manipur	3
Meghalaya	1
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Puducherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu	2
Telangana	4
Tripura	1
Uttar Pradesh	6
Uttarakhand	1
West Bengal
Total	57

List of central universities in India

Renovated gate of Tezpur University, a central university established in 1994

The establishment Act of universities established by the Central Universities Act, 2009, or after it, is noted. All other universities were established by a specific Act.

Central universities of India

University	State	Location	Centralised	Established	Specialisation	Sources
Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh[note 1]	Andhra Pradesh	Vizianagaram	2019	2019	Tribal General	[6]
Central University of Andhra Pradesh[note 1]		Anantapuram	2019	2019	General	[11]
National Sanskrit University[note 2]		Tirupati	2020	1956	Sanskrit	[13]
Rajiv Gandhi University	Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	2007	1985	General	[14]
Assam University	Assam	Silchar	1994	1994	General	[15]
Tezpur University		Tezpur	1994	1994	General	[16]
Central University of South Bihar	Bihar	Gaya	2009	2009	General	[17]
Mahatma Gandhi Central University[note 1]		Motihari	2016	2016	General	[18]
Nalanda University[note 3][note 4]		Rajgir, Nalanda	2010	2010	International university	[20]
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agriculture University[note 3]		Samastipur	2016	1905	Agriculture	[21]
Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya	Chhattisgarh	Bilaspur	2009	1983	General	[22]
Central Sanskrit University[note 2]	Delhi	New Delhi	2020	1970	Sanskrit	[23]
Indira Gandhi National Open University[note 3]		New Delhi	1985	1985	Distance education	[24]
Jamia Millia Islamia		New Delhi	1988	1920	General	[25]
Jawaharlal Nehru University		New Delhi	1969	1969	General	[26]
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University[note 2]		New Delhi	2020	1962	Sanskrit	[27]
South Asian University[note 3]		New Delhi	2010	2010	International university	[28]
University of Delhi		New Delhi	1922	1922	General	[29]
Central University of Gujarat[note 5]	Gujarat	Gandhinagar	2009	2009	General	[30]
Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya[note 1]		Vadodara	2018	2022	Transport	[31]
Central University of Haryana[note 5]	Haryana	Mahendragarh	2009	2009	General	[32]
Central University of Himachal Pradesh[note 5]	Himachal Pradesh	Dharamsala	2009	2009	General	[33]
Central University of Jammu[note 5]	Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu	2011	2011	General	[34]
Central University of Kashmir[note 5]		Ganderbal	2009	2009	General	[35]
Central University of Jharkhand[note 5]	Jharkhand	Ranchi	2009	2009	General	[36]
Central University of Karnataka[note 5]	Karnataka	Kalaburagi	2009	2009	General	[37]
Central University of Kerala[note 5]	Kerala	Kasaragod	2009	2009	General	[38]
Sindhu Central University[note 1]	Ladakh	Khalatse	2021	2021	General	[39]
Dr. Hari Singh Gour University	Madhya Pradesh	Sagar	2009	1946	General	[40]
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University		Amarkantak	2007	2007	General	[41]
Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya	Maharashtra	Wardha	1997	1997	Hindi language	[42]
Central Agricultural University[note 3]	Manipur	Imphal	1993	1993	Agriculture	[43]
Manipur University		Imphal	2005	1980	General	[44]
National Sports University[note 3]		Imphal	2018	2018	Sports	[45]
North Eastern Hill University	Meghalaya	Shillong	1973	1973	General	[46]
Mizoram University	Mizoram	Aizawl	2000	2000	General	[47]
Nagaland University	Nagaland	Lumami	1994	1994	General	[48]
Central University of Odisha[note 5]	Odisha	Koraput	2009	2009	General	[49]
Pondicherry University	Puducherry	Pondicherry	1985	1985	General	[50]
Central University of Punjab[note 5]	Punjab	Bathinda	2009	2009	General	[51]
Central University of Rajasthan[note 5]	Rajasthan	Ajmer	2009	2009	General	[52]
Sikkim University	Sikkim	Gangtok	2007	2007	General	[53]
Central University of Tamil Nadu[note 5]	Tamil Nadu	Tiruvarur	2009	2009	General	[54]
Indian Maritime University[note 3]		Chennai	2008	2008	Marine science	[55]
English and Foreign Languages University	Telangana	Hyderabad	2007	1958	English and foreign languages	[56]
Maulana Azad National Urdu University		Hyderabad	1998	1998	Urdu language
University of Hyderabad		Hyderabad	1974	1974	General	[57]
Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University		Mulugu	2023	2023	General	[58]
Tripura University	Tripura	Agartala	1987	1987	General	[59]
Aligarh Muslim University	Uttar Pradesh	Aligarh	1920	1920	General	[60]
University of Allahabad		Prayagraj	2005	1887	General	[61]
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University		Lucknow	1996	1996	General	[62]
Banaras Hindu University		Varanasi	1916	1916	General	[63]
Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University[note 3]		Raebareli	2013	2013	Aviation science	[64]
Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University[note 3]		Jhansi	2014	2014	Agriculture	[65]
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University	Uttarakhand	Srinagar	2009	1973	General	[66]
Visva-Bharati University	West Bengal	Shantiniketan	1921	1921	General	[67]

Notes

1. Established under amendments Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2014,^[7] Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2019,^[8] Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2021^[9] and Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2022.^[10]
2. Established under The Central Sanskrit Universities Act, 2020^[12]
3. Directly funded by Government of India and not by UGC.^[2]
4. Established under central act Nalanda University Act, 2010^[19]
5. Established by the Central Universities Act, 2009^[5]

See also

• List of universities in India
• List of state universities in India
• List of deemed universities in India
• List of private universities in India
• List of autonomous higher education institutes in India