Background: why this RTI was filed
Most questions about Indian higher education are matters of degree — which programme, which year, which centre. A few are binary. Whether a body appears in the UGC's list of universities established under section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 is one of the binary ones.
Section 2(f) is the definition that makes an institution a university for the purposes of the Act. Bodies on that list may award the degrees specified by the UGC under section 22. Bodies not on it may not. This RTI asked the UGC where Amdus Vidyapeeth sits.
| Document | Reply under the Right to Information Act, 2005 |
| Reference | No.F. 1-411/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU) |
| Dated | June 2024 |
| Authority | University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002 |
| Issued by | (R.I.S. Bhardwaj), Under Secretary & CPIO |
| Application | online RTI dated 13.06.2024, received in this office on 21.06.2024 |
| Institution | Amdus Vidyapeeth |
What the document says
The answer occupies a single row of a single table. The name of Amdus Vidyapeeth does not appear in the list of Universities established as per section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 as maintained by UGC. Therefore, it is not authorised to issue UGC specified degrees.
The UGC then does something useful: it tells the applicant where to check for themselves. The list of all UGC recognised Higher Education Institutions, universities and colleges, is published on the UGC website and may be accessed at the HEIs tab.
The Commission answered promptly. The online application is dated 13.06.2024, was received on 21.06.2024, and the reply was signed on 01/07/2024 — within three weeks of filing.
Key findings
Not in the section 2(f) list
The UGC states the name does not appear in its list of universities established under section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956.
Not authorised to issue UGC specified degrees
The UGC draws the consequence itself: therefore, it is not authorised to issue UGC specified degrees.
The list is public
The reply points to the UGC website, where recognised universities and colleges are published under the HEIs tab — so the position can be checked independently.
Answered in under three weeks
The online RTI is dated 13.06.2024 and was received on 21.06.2024; the reply is signed 01/07/2024.
“The name of Amdus Vidyapeeth does not appear in the list of Universities established as per section 2(f) of UGC Act, 1956 as maintained by UGC. Therefore, it is not authorised to issue UGC specified degrees.”
— UGC, No.F. 1-411/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU), June 2024
What employers and students should know
A body that is not a university under section 2(f) cannot award the degrees the UGC specifies under section 22. That is what this reply establishes, in the regulator's own words.
It does not follow that every document bearing this name is a forgery, or that nothing was taught. Organisations outside the university system run courses and issue certificates lawfully. What they cannot do is call the result a degree of the kind section 22 covers.
So the practical test for an employer or an admissions office is simple. If a qualification is presented as a degree, the awarding body needs to be on the UGC's list. This one, as at June 2024, was not — and the list is public, so the check takes a minute.
- Check the awarding body's name against the UGC's HEIs list at ugc.gov.in before accepting any qualification described as a degree.
- Ask the candidate which university awarded the qualification, as distinct from which institution taught it.
- Where a certificate uses degree nomenclature, compare it against the UGC Specification of Degrees notification.
- If a body claims a recognition or affiliation, ask for the order or notification number and check it with the authority named on it.
- Keep the reply reference — No.F. 1-411/2024 (RIA)(CPP-I/PU) — with any file you build.
What this record shows:
- The UGC states the name Amdus Vidyapeeth does not appear in its list of universities established under section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956.
- The UGC states that therefore it is not authorised to issue UGC specified degrees.
- The UGC identifies its website, under the HEIs tab, as the published source for that list.
- The position stated is as at the date of the reply, June 2024.
What it does not show:
- It does not state that any particular certificate is forged.
- It does not state that the body does not exist or that nothing is taught there.
- It does not record any complaint, penalty, prosecution or action against anyone.
- It does not address recognition by any other authority, body or state government.
Every statement on this page is drawn from the official document described above. Readers should rely on the original document and the issuing authority for any decision.