Digvijaya Singh Urges Resolution on UGC Guidelines Amid Discrimination Concerns

• Congress leader Digvijaya Singh highlighted concerns over new UGC guidelines regarding caste-based discrimination in higher education.
• He referenced the cases of Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula, and Supreme Court prompting, leading to draft UGC Equity Regulations in Feb 2025.
• Singh detailed recommendations from a Parliamentary Standing Committee report in Dec 2025, including explicit inclusion of OBCs and disability as axes of discrimination, and increased representation in Equity Committees.
• The UGC's final Equity Regulations in Jan 2026 accepted some recommendations but omitted others, notably regarding increased representation and a comprehensive list of discriminatory practices.
• General category students criticized the final rules for removing penalties for false cases and excluding them as potential victims of caste discrimination, while Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured no misuse.

Why It Matters: Digvijaya Singh calls for UGC and Education Ministry to resolve issues in new guidelines to prevent discrimination.