UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Rethinking UGC’s new equity regulations

Q1. In the context of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, which one of the following best describes an 'Equal Opportunity Centre' (EOC)?

  • A. An institutional mechanism in every Higher Education Institution to receive and address complaints of caste-, gender- and religion-based discrimination against students
  • B. A central monitoring unit at the UGC headquarters that coordinates equity reporting across all central universities
  • C. A statutory tribunal constituted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
  • D. A cell within each HEI exclusively responsible for administering reservation quotas at the time of admission

Q2. While staying the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 on 29 January 2026, how many questions of law did the Supreme Court frame on the petitions challenging the Regulations?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Seven

Q3. Under which provision of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 does the UGC derive the power to make regulations such as the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026?

  • A. Section 12
  • B. Section 14
  • C. Section 26
  • D. Section 33