NEW DELHI: A 31-member joint committee of Parliament to be headed by BJP MP D Purandeswari has been set up to examine the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, which seeks to establish a single higher education regulator.

According to a Lok Sabha secretariat notification issued on Tuesday, the committee comprises members from both Houses of Parliament and will scrutinise the provisions of the proposed legislation before submitting its report.

The VBSA Bill, introduced during the Winter session, seeks to overhaul the higher education regulatory framework in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The proposed legislation aims to replace multiple existing regulators with a single overarching body and provide for separation of accreditation, funding and standard-setting functions.

Rajya Sabha members on the panel are Surendra Singh Nagar (BJP), Sudhanshu Trivedi (BJP), Pradip Kumar Varma (BJD), Meenakshi Jain (BJP), Digvijaya Singh (Cong), Sagarika Ghose (TMC), Sasmit Patra (BJD), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JD-U) and Ram Gopal Yadav (SP).

Lok Sabha members include D Purandeswari (BJP), Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJP), Sambit Patra (BJP), Tejasvi Surya (BJP), Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP), Bansuri Swaraj (BJP), Vivek Thakur (BJP), Hemang Joshi (BJP), Brijmohan Agrawal (BJP), Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (Cong), Angomcha Bimol Akoijam (Cong), Vamsi Krishna Gaddam (Cong), E T Mohammed Basheer (IUML), Lalji Verma (SP), Sougata Ray (TMC), T R Baalu (DMK), Sribharat Mathukumilli (TDP) and Alok Kumar Suman (JD-U).

The government had told the Lok Sabha its intent to send the bill to a joint panel for wider consultations amid concerns raised by opposition parties over issues relating to federalism, institutional autonomy and centralisation of powers.

The JPC is expected to invite suggestions from stakeholders, including state governments and academic bodies, before finalising its recommendations.