Punjab first state to frame policy for private digital universities

The Punjab Cabinet on Friday approved India’s first comprehensive policy under which private institutions can establish fully digital universities in the state.

The Cabinet, which met here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, gave its nod to the Punjab Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026 to regulate and promote private digital open universities offering online and open distance learning (ODL) programmes.

The policy aims to ensure quality higher education for students in the state and to open up employment opportunities for them, an official statement said.

According to the statement, the policy aligns with the UGC Regulations, 2020, and introduces state-level standards for quality, accessibility, digital infrastructure, data governance, and learner protection.

“This pioneering policy will expand flexible, affordable higher education and position Punjab as a digital learning hub,” it said.

“Under this policy, private institutions can establish fully digital universities in Punjab. This is India’s first such policy so far. Only Tripura has set up a digital university, but without a comprehensive policy, so Punjab becomes the first state to provide both a policy and a model in this area,” the statement said.

The government said the policy would benefit students and professionals who are busy with life, family, or jobs, as they will be able to complete degrees without quitting their jobs, changing cities, or attending physical classrooms.

Calling the policy the need of the hour, the statement said a large number of students worldwide are learning through online platforms. It added that lakhs of students are clearing competitive examinations such as JEE, NEET, and UPSC by watching free online lectures.

In India, crores of youth are building careers by learning from online courses and AI-based applications, but the existing university framework allows only physical campuses, the statement said. As a result, digital-first universities were not legally possible, creating a gap where students earned formal degrees from one institution while acquiring key skills elsewhere.

The new policy bridges this gap, the government said, adding that students can now complete their entire degree from home using a mobile phone or laptop, with degrees being legally valid and compliant with AICTE and UGC standards.

“A new era of lifelong learning and upskilling will be heralded, thereby strengthening the culture of continuous learning in fields like IT, AI, Business, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Data Science,” the statement said.

As per the policy, institutions setting up digital universities will be required to have at least 2.5 acres of land, along with digital content studios, control rooms, server rooms, operations centres, and state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.

Each digital university must also have digital content creation studios, IT server rooms, Learning Management System (LMS) operations centres, digital examination control rooms, tech-enabled call centres, 24×7 student support systems, and a minimum Rs 20 crore corpus fund.

“This will ensure that only serious and capable institutions come forward for this,” the statement said.

Separate Bills will be introduced in the Punjab Assembly for every approved proposal to ensure that each digital university is legally strong and transparent.

The policy is modelled on global digital universities such as Western Governors University (USA), University of Phoenix (USA), Walden University (USA), and Open University Malaysia, which have provided low-cost, modern, and high-quality education to millions of students, the statement said.

The government said Punjab is building a modern higher education ecosystem that will directly benefit students by lowering the cost of education. The digital mode will reduce infrastructure costs, result in more affordable fees, and eliminate hidden expenses.

Courses will include new-age skills such as AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, business skills, and robotics, addressing the earlier issue where students obtained degrees from one institution and practical learning from another.

“With digital universities, both will now be available in one place, saving time and money for lakhs of youth, as there will be no commuting, hostel or PG costs, stationery expenses, or travel costs,” the statement added.