Explained: UGC’s new regulations to deal with caste-based discrimination and the opposition to them

Here’s what the regulations say, and what the controversy around them is.

What are the new UGC regulations?

The UGC notified the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 on January 13. The stated purpose was to “eradicate discrimination only on the basis of religion, race, gender, place of birth, caste, or disability, particularly against the members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, economically weaker sections, persons with disabilities, or any of them, and to promote full equity and inclusion amongst the stakeholders in higher education institutions”.

These regulations replace the similarly named UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations from 2012. 

The new regulations, which will apply to all higher education institutions, lay down a structure and method for discrimination-related complaints to be made and addressed.

How will these regulations be implemented?

To implement the objective of these regulations, every higher education institution is mandated to have an Equal Opportunity Centre, an Equity Committee and Equity Squads. Let’s look at these one by one:

Equal Opportunity Centre: The Equal Opportunity Centre (EOC) will oversee the implementation of policies related to disadvantaged groups, coordinate with the district administration and police, and help provide legal aid when necessary.

These EOCs will have five faculty members from the institution, There is no reservation for any category for these five members. The regulations state that if a college does not have at least five faculty members to establish an EOC, its functions shall be performed by the EOC of the university itself to which the college is affiliated. 

Equity Committee: The EOC will have a ten-member Equity Committee chaired by the head of the institution. Five of its members must be from reserved categories — Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women. It is to meet within 24 hours to address complaints, and submit its report to the head of the institutions in 15 days. In turn, the head of the institution is to initiate action within seven days.

Equity Squads: These are to be constituted to “maintain vigil and prevent discrimination on campus”. They are to “remain mobile and visit vulnerable spots frequently.” Institutions will also have a 24-hour ‘Equity Helpline’ to report incidents of discrimination. They must appoint Equity Ambassadors who will work as “torch bearers” of equity.

How are these regulations different from the 2012 regulations?

The 2012 regulations were mostly advisory in nature. They stated that “the punishment shall be commensurate with the nature of the discrimination or harassment”. 

They did not provide for action to be taken against an institution that does not comply with the regulations. The new regulations, however, provide for a system for the UGC to monitor their implementation via a national-level monitoring committee. Institutions that don’t comply with the regulations can face action — the UGC can debar them from participating in the commission’s schemes, from offering degree programmes and online programmes, or remove the institution from the list of those that are eligible to receive central grants.

The previous regulations did provide for the creation of Equal Opportunity Cells at institutions, but did not specify their composition and the procedure to be followed in case of an incident of discrimination.

They mandated the appointment of an Anti-Discrimination Officer. There was also a provision to appeal before the head of institution against any decision by the Anti-Discrimination Officer. 

The new regulations have more detailed provisions for making complaints and the procedures of their disposal, as detailed above. 

The 2012 version also did not specify OBCs anywhere in the regulations, and only stated that “no higher educational institution shall discriminate (against) a student belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes categories”.

And how are the new regulations different from the initial draft released last year?

After the draft regulations were made public, concerns were raised about certain sections of it, and changes have been incorporated.

For instance, the All India OBC Students Association had flagged the exclusion of OBCs in the equity committees and in the definition of ‘caste discrimination’ in the draft.

The final version notified earlier this month added OBCs to the definition of caste discrimination, stating that “caste-based discrimination means discrimination only on the basis of caste or tribe against the members of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes”. The final version also provided for representation of OBCs in the equity committee, when the draft had only called for the committee to have at least one member each from the ST and SC category, and include at least one woman.

The final regulations have also done away with a section on ‘false complaints’, which had been included in the draft. The draft had provided for a fine or disciplinary proceedings in case of “false complaints of discrimination”.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, headed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, had in a report submitted to Parliament last month, stated that the draft regulations must “explicitly include the harassment of students and other stakeholders from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in its definition of caste-based harassment”.

What is the context in which these regulations were notified?

The regulations stem from a 2019 petition in the Supreme Court filed by the mothers of Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula who died by suicide over alleged caste-based discrimination in 2019 and 2016 respectively. The petitioners — Abeda Salim Tadvi and Radhika Vemula — had raised concerns about the implementation of the 2012 equity regulations.

The petition had urged the enforcement of robust anti-discrimination mechanisms across higher education institutions. 

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized on January 3, 2025 that regulations must be more than symbolic gestures. 

A draft of the new equity regulations was made public for feedback in February 2025. In April last year, the court said in an order that the UGC may proceed with finalising and notifying the regulations.

What is the controversy over these regulations?

A section of students, and now BJP office-bearers in Lucknow, have been calling for the withdrawal of the regulations. They have alleged that the regulations can lead to the “harassment” of students in the general category, and can create divisions on the basis of caste. An aspect of the regulations that they are protesting is that there is no provision for penalties in the case of “false complaints of discrimination”, and that institutions can be subjected to action for not complying with the regulations.

Under the #UGCRollBack hashtag on X, accounts have been alleging that the regulations are “unfair” to students in the general category, and that it creates caste-based divisions for political gain among the OBC community.