Former RBI Governor S Venkitaramanan passes away
Chennai, Nov 18: Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India S Venkitaramanan passed away here on Saturday, due to brief illness, sources said.
He was 92.
Venkitaramanan was a member of the Indian Administrative Service and prior to taking up the role of RBI Governor, he had served as the Finance Secretary and later as an Adviser to the Government of Karnataka.
Venkitaramanan had served the RBI between December 1990 and December 1992.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das hailed him as an 'outstanding personality' and 'public servant' and recalled his immense contributions during the period of crisis.
"The country faced difficulties related to the external sector during his tenure. His adroit management saw the country tide over the balance of payments crisis," the apex bank said.
Venkitaramanan's term also saw India adopt the IMF's stabilisation programme where the Rupee underwent a devaluation and the launch of the programme of economic reforms, the RBI said in its website.
In a social media post, Das said, "Very sad to hear about the demise of Shri S Venkitaramanan, former Governor of the RBI. He was an outstanding personality and public servant. He made immense contributions during periods of crisis. May his soul rest in eternal peace."
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said, "one of India's most brilliant civil servants who left his mark, especially in the field of finance, has just passed away in Chennai at the age of 92. S Venkitaramanan was RBI Governor at a most crucial time of our economic history during 1990-92."
Apart from this, Venkitaramanan had made major contributions in industrial development and energy as well, Ramesh said in a social media post.
"He (Venkitaramanan) was a key aide of C Subramaniam who played a pivotal role in ushering in the Green Revolution in the mid-60s. I have many fond memories of our association that spanned almost three decades and from which I learned much," he added.
Very sad to hear about the demise of Shri S.Venkitaramanan, former Governor of the RBI. He was an outstanding personality and public servant. Made immense contribution during periods of crisis. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
— Shaktikanta Das (@DasShaktikanta) November 18, 2023
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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