Govt proposes hike in 3rd-party motor insurance premium from next fiscal
New Delhi, Mar 5: The Union Road Transport Ministry has proposed an increase in the third-party motor insurance premium for various categories of vehicles, which is likely to jack up insurance cost of car and two-wheelers from April 1.
According to the proposed revised rates, private cars with 1,000 cubic capacity (cc) will attract rates of Rs 2,094 compared to Rs 2,072 in 2019-20.
Similarly, private cars with 1,000 cc to 1,500 cc will attract rates of Rs 3,416 compared to Rs 3,221, while owners of car above 1,500cc will see a premium of Rs 7,897 compared to Rs 7,890.
Two-wheelers over 150 cc but not exceeding 350 cc will attract a premium of Rs 1,366 and for two-wheelers over 350 cc the revised premium will be Rs 2,804.
After two years moratorium due to COVID-19 pandemic, the revised TP insurance premium will come into effect from April 1.
Earlier, TP rates were notified by the insurance regulator IRDAI. This is also for the first time that the road transport ministry will notify the TP rates in consultation with the insurance regulator.
According to the draft notification, a discount of 15 per cent is proposed for electric private cars, electric two-wheelers, electric goods-carrying commercial vehicles and electric passenger-carrying vehicles.
A discount of 7.5 per cent on Motor TP premium rates for hybrid electric vehicles is proposed, the draft notification said, adding that this will be an incentive to use environment-friendly vehicles.
While electric private cars (not exceeding 30KW) will attract a premium of Rs 1,780, for electric private cars (exceeding 30 KW but not exceeding 65 KW) premium will be Rs 2,904.
The premium for goods carrying commercial vehicles (exceeding 12,000 kg but not exceeding 20,000 kg) would increase to Rs 35,313 from Rs 33,414 in 2019-20.
Similarly, in case goods carrying commercial vehicles ( exceeding 40,000 kg), the premium will increase to Rs 44,242 compared to Rs 41,561 in 2019-20.
The third party insurance cover is for other than own damage and is mandatory along with the own damage cover that a vehicle owner has to purchase.
This insurance cover is for any collateral damage to a third party, generally a human being, caused due to a road accident.
The ministry has invited suggestions on the draft notification by March-end.
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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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