Central universities in India are public universities established by an Act of Parliament and are under the purview of the Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, except for nine universities which are under the purview of other ministries. In general, universities in India are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination. Central universities, in addition, are covered by the Central Universities Act, 2009, which regulates their purpose, powers, governance etc., and established 12 new universities. the list of central universities published by the UGC includes 56 central universities.

Universities by state

The region with the most central universities in India is Delhi with seven universities. There are central universities in all of the states of India except Goa. Of the union territories, there are central universities in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Puducherry.

List of central universities in India

The establishment Act of universities established by the Central Universities Act, 2009, or after it, is noted. All other universities were established by a specific Act.