Thehigher education system inIndia includes bothprivate andpublicuniversities. Public universities are supported by theGovernment of India and thestate governments, while private universities are mostly supported by various bodies and societies. Universities in India are recognised by theUniversity Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from theUniversity Grants Commission Act, 1956.[1] In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and co-ordination.[2]
The types of universities include:
As of June 2025, the Press Information Bureau reports India has a total of 1,338 universities, reflecting growth since the previous UGC-published count in 2023.[11]There are universities of some kind in each of the 28states of India as well as five of the eightunion territories:Chandigarh,Delhi,Jammu and Kashmir,Ladakh andPuducherry. The state with the most universities isGujarat with 97 universities, and Gujarat has also by far the most state private universities, 63 in number.[10]Tamil Nadu is the state with the most deemed universities, numbering 28,[8] andKarnataka has the most state universities, 42.[5] Delhi has 7 central universities, the largest number of all the states and territories.[4]
Also not listed are institutes which are under the control of the professional councils, without an approval of the UGC, e.g.Agricultural Universities, which are under the control of the Agricultural Education Division of theIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), one of the professional councils.[13][14]
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also maintains a list fake Universities operating in India. UGC has said that these 24 self-styled, unrecognised institutions functioning in contravention of the UGC Act have been declared as fake and are not entitled to confer any degrees.[15] As of 14 November 2023[update], the list contains 20 institutions.[16]
The table below is correct as of 14 November 2023[update].
| State | Central universities[4] | State universities[5] | Deemed universities[8] | Private universities[10] | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh (list) | 3 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 49 |
| Arunachal Pradesh (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Assam (list) | 2 | 18 | 1 | 9 | 30 |
| Bihar (list) | 4 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 32 |
| Chandigarh (list) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Chhattisgarh (list) | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 33 |
| Delhi (list) | 7 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 27 |
| Goa (list) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Gujarat (list) | 2 | 30 | 2 | 63 | 97 |
| Haryana (list) | 1 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 51 |
| Himachal Pradesh (list) | 1 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 25 |
| Jammu and Kashmir (list) | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Jharkhand (list) | 1 | 13 | 1 | 18 | 33 |
| Karnataka (list) | 1 | 42 | 14 | 25 | 82 |
| Kerala (list) | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Ladakh (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Madhya Pradesh (list) | 2 | 24 | 1 | 51 | 78 |
| Maharashtra (list) | 1 | 29 | 21 | 26 | 77 |
| Manipur (list) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Meghalaya (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Mizoram (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Nagaland (list) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Odisha (list) | 1 | 23 | 3 | 8 | 35 |
| Puducherry (list) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Punjab (list) | 1 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 35 |
| Rajasthan (list) | 1 | 26 | 8 | 52 | 87 |
| Sikkim (list) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Tamil Nadu (list) | 2 | 22 | 28 | 4 | 56 |
| Telangana (list) | 3 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 29 |
| Tripura (list) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Uttar Pradesh (list) | 6 | 35[note 1] | 8 | 35 | 84 |
| Uttarakhand (list) | 1 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 38 |
| West Bengal (list) | 1 | 38 | 4 | 12 | 55 |
| Total | 56 | 478[note 1] | 124 | 455 | 1113[note 1] |
| Sovereign states |
|
|---|---|
| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |
