UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC keeps in abeyance 2026 UGC campus equity rules, terms move ‘too sweeping’

Q1. The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, recently kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court, were notified by a body that functions under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • B. Ministry of Education
  • C. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

Q2. With reference to the Equity Committee mandated under the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, consider the following categories of mandatory representation in every Higher Educational Institution's committee: 1. Scheduled Castes 2. Other Backward Classes 3. Persons with Disabilities 4. Economically Weaker Sections Which of the above are correctly identified as mandatorily represented categories under the 2026 Regulations?

  1. Scheduled Castes
  2. Other Backward Classes
  3. Persons with Disabilities
  4. Economically Weaker Sections
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. The disputed Regulation 3(c) of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 — which prompted the Supreme Court's stay — defines 'caste-based discrimination' as discrimination directed against members of which one of the following groups only?

  • A. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes only
  • B. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes only
  • C. All socially and educationally backward classes including the EWS category
  • D. Any student or faculty member subjected to caste-based hostility, irrespective of category

Q4. Under the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, within how many hours of receipt of a complaint of caste-based discrimination must the institutional Equity Committee convene its meeting?

  • A. 12 hours
  • B. 24 hours
  • C. 48 hours
  • D. 72 hours

Q5. The University Grants Commission, which notified the 2026 Equity Regulations recently stayed by the Supreme Court, derives its statutory authority exclusively from which one of the following enactments?

  • A. The University Grants Commission Act, 1956
  • B. The Higher Education Commission of India Act, 1972
  • C. The National Commission for Higher Education and Research Act, 2010
  • D. The Central Universities Act, 2009