EP-384 | UGC Regulations 2026: Dr Vikas Divyakirti on Protests, Reservation & Caste Discrimination

UGC Regulations 2026 are witnessing protests in North India with General Category students raising concerns that these rules could increase discrimination. They also worry about weak safeguards against false complaints and unclear mechanisms for addressing their grievances.

What is the purpose and scope of the UGC Equity Regulations? Are the protests against the new regulations organic? How do the new regulations differ from the 2012 regulations?

In this episode of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, founder and MD of Drishti IAS, answers it all.

00:00 – Introduction

02:58 – UGC 2026 Regulations

10:48 – Implicit Discrimination Concerns

13:47 – Equity Committee Structure

21:10 – Bias in Faculty Hiring

28:28 – Social Reform in Education

37:47 – General Category & Marginalised Sections

42:09 – Inequality in Indian Society

47:51 – Merit-Based Selection

55:04 – Caste & Social Bias in Education

59:60 – Explicit & Implicit Discrimination

1:03:55 – Caste Discrimination Complaints

1:09:33 – Discrimination Definition

1:15:28 – Caste Representation in Academia

1:23:12 – Political Debate on New UGC Guidelines

1:26:18 – Gen Z in India

1:41:03 – Caste Representation

1:53:38 – BJP & Upper-Caste Vote Bank

1:58:26 – Reservation Debate

2:02:20 – “Batenge to Katenge” Slogan

2:09:42 – Caste-Sensitive Politics