PM Modi calls for greater cooperation among SCO members to ensure peace & prosperity
Bishkek: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for greater cooperation among the SCO countries in combatting terrorism, promoting economy, alternate energy and healthcare as he outlined India's commitment to peace and economic prosperity in the region.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here, Modi gave a template, 'HEALTH', for strengthening cooperation.
"Our vision is to strengthen the healthy cooperation among us. Using the letters of HEALTH, we can make a good template for cooperation.
"H for healthcare cooperation, E for economic cooperation, A for alternate energy, L for literature and culture, T for terrorism-free society and H for humanitarian cooperation," Modi said.
SCO region and history, civilization and culture of India are interconnected for thousands of years, he said.
"Our shared area is in great need of better connectivity in the modern era," he said.
Initiatives like International North South Transport Corridor, Chabahar Port, Ashgabat Agreement, clarify the focus of India on connectivity, Modi said.
"Respect for sovereignty, regional integrity, good governance, transparency, practicality and reliability should be the basis of connectivity initiatives. The importance of people-to-people contact with physical connectivity is not less," he said in an apparent reference to China's massive infrastructure development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
India opposes the USD 60 billion CPEC as it is being laid through PoK.
It has been two years since India became a member of the SCO. India has contributed positively in all the activities of the SCO, he said. India's e-tourist visa facility is available to most of the SCO member countries, he said.
"On the website of India Tourism, a new 24*7 helpline will be launched in the Russian language for the convenience of tourists from the SCO countries," he said.
"Our vision is to strengthen the healthy cooperation. Using the letters of HEALTH, we can make a good template for cooperation.
"H for healthcare cooperation, E for economic cooperation, A for alternate energy, L for literature and culture, T for terrorism-free society and H for humanitarian cooperation," Modi said.
There is a need to emphasise on the healthcare work plan. India would be happy to share its experience in telemedicine and health tourism, he said.
"Economic cooperation is the basis of our people's future. Unilateralism and protectionism has not benefitted anyone. We need an open and all-inclusive trade policy at the WTO so that the interests of every countries specially the developing ones can be take care of," Modi said.
India is committed to make a favourable environment for the economic cooperation between the SCO member countries, he said.
India is committed to tackle the danger of climate change. Today, India is the sixth largest producer of renewable and fifth largest producer of solar power, the Prime Minister said.
International Solar Alliance (ISA) is India's joint initiative whose objective is to mobilise funds for reducing the cost of energy, he said.
"We welcome the SCO member states in the initiative. India is also ready to share its experience in generating the additional sources of energy," Modi said.
"Introduction of each other's literature to our youths will strengthen our relations. Ten top composition of India's literature will be translated in the language of SCO member countries," he said.
Literature and culture provide our societies a positive activity, specially they stop the spread of radicalisation among the youths in our society.
To combat the menace of terrorism, countries will have to come out of their narrow purview to unite against it, Modi said.
"Countries sponsoring, aiding and funding terrorism must be held accountable," he said at the summit which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
India has been playing the role of first responder in the event of disaster and humanitarian cooperation, he said.
"We must pay special attention to the topic of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure," Modi added.
Modi arrived in the Kyrgyz capital on Thursday for the two-day SCO summit. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc with India and Pakistan being admitted to the grouping in 2017.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.”
