VIJAYAWADA: Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh introduced the Andhra Pradesh Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025 in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. After discussion, the bill was passed.
“The Cabinet recently approved allotment of 70 acres of land for BITS in Amaravati. We’re also collaborating with Tata Group, L&T, IIT Madras, and University of Tokyo for a Deep Tech University,” he said.
The 2016 law, amended five times by the previous government, clashed with UGC norms, including a mandate for greenfield universities to partner with top 100 global institutions — a rule UGC does not enforce.
The State is engaging with private universities through the Economic Development Board. University of Tokyo and AME University, Philippines have evinced interest, with more institutions in talks.
“We aim to attract top Indian and foreign universities across Andhra Pradesh, not just Amaravati and Visakhapatnam, but also Rayalaseema, with significant incentives,” Lokesh said.
Revealing that a proposal for IIIT in Kanigiri is under consideration, he said Andhra Kesari University was set up in Prakasam district in 2022 without any sanctioned posts or staff. The university will be developed. Donors are coming forward to strengthen government universities, and a special mechanism needs to be established for this, he said.
Lokesh highlighted the NDA government’s focus on higher education, citing the 2016 law under the TDP rule that brought Centurion University in Visakhapatnam. Spanning 75 acres with a builtup area of 4.75 lakh square feet, it trains 2,550 students across 23 programmes with 133 faculty members, boasting eight Centres of Excellence and three incubation hubs. However, administrative delays due to its trust in Odisha have prompted a request to operate under AP’s framework, which this bill aims to address through legislative amendments, he explained.