Aurobindo Saxena

State University Guide · Rajasthan · 2026 Edition

How to Start a Private University in Rajasthan: The 2026 Complete Guide

Q: What is the minimum land required to start a private university in Rajasthan?

There is no longer any minimum land requirement. An Order of the Education (Group-4) Department, Government of Rajasthan dated 22 July 2026 substituted paragraphs 9(ii) and 9(iii) of the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 and removed the minimum acreage altogether, acting on priority area PA-16, 'Eliminate Minimum Land Requirement for Private Universities', under the Government of India's Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Initiative Phase-II. What applies instead is a building test: the sponsoring body must have buildings with a minimum carpet area of 25,000 square metres and open space of 25,000 square metres. Where the sponsoring body owns two plots, the plots must be no more than 2 km apart, at least one of them must carry one or more institutions of higher education, and each must have buildings with a minimum carpet area of 12,500 square metres and 12,500 square metres of open space (Source: Order No. F. 3(14)Edu-4/2006-05050-7032831 dated 22 July 2026, Education Group-4 Department, Government of Rajasthan, amending the Revised Guidelines of 10 February 2026).

Q: Is the 30-acre land norm still in force in Rajasthan?

No, and neither is the 20-acre norm that briefly replaced it. The 30-acre figure came from the Guidelines dated 26 July 2007, which have been superseded in practice by the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026. Those Revised Guidelines set a minimum of 20 acres of contiguous land with forty per cent designated as open space, and that position was operative only between 10 February 2026 and 21 July 2026. The Order dated 22 July 2026 substituted the paragraph containing it and left no acreage requirement at all. Hindi press coverage on 25 July 2026 reported the amendment as a reduction from 30 acres to 20 acres with forty per cent open space; those figures describe the text that was replaced, not the Order that replaced it.

Q: How much is the endowment fund for a Rajasthan private university?

The amount is not published. Paragraph 9(i) of the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 requires the sponsoring body to establish an Endowment Fund for the university 'with such amount as may be specified by an order issued by the Government time to time'. The Guidelines themselves fix no figure. A separate order dated 16 June 2026, carrying the same file number, specifies the amount and is expressly preserved by paragraph 3 of the Order dated 22 July 2026, so it is in force, but it is not in the public domain. Any tiered figure you are quoted, such as an amount varying with the site's distance from municipal limits, belongs to the superseded 2007 regime. Confirm the current amount directly with the Commissioner, College Education, Rajasthan, Jaipur before building it into a funding plan.

Q: What net worth does the sponsoring body need, and what does the application cost?

Paragraph 1(d) of the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 requires the sponsoring body to have a minimum net worth of INR 25 Crore, verified by audited financial records for the past five years. Because the test looks back five years, it cannot be met by capitalising the entity shortly before filing. The application itself carries a demand draft of INR 10 Lakh in favour of the Commissioner College Education Rajasthan, Jaipur under paragraph 3, ten times what the superseded 2007 Guidelines required. Note that this INR 25 Crore net-worth test is a State requirement on the sponsoring body and is a different thing from the INR 25 Crore corpus fund the University Grants Commission (UGC) requires of a privately funded Deemed-to-be-University under its 2023 Regulations. The two happen to carry the same number, under different regimes and different authorities; meeting one does not evidence the other.

Q: How long does it take to get a private university approved in Rajasthan?

The Guidelines do not set a typical end-to-end timeline. They set deadlines for individual stages only. The Detailed Project Report assessment committee must submit its report within 60 days of its constitution under paragraph 8. The sponsoring body must file its compliance affidavit within a maximum period of three years from the date of issue of the Letter of Intent (LOI) under paragraph 10; under paragraph 11, failure to comply within that period means the proposal stands rejected and the Letter of Intent is deemed to have been withdrawn. Both the Compliance Verification Committee under paragraph 12 and the Land and Building Verification Committee under paragraph 13, the latter convened by the District Collector, must report within two months of their constitution under paragraph 14. The total time to Gazette notification then depends on the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly calendar for tabling and passing the institution's dedicated Bill, which is not fixed.

Q: Which government department handles private university applications in Rajasthan?

The Department of College Education (DCE), under the Higher and Technical Education framework of the Government of Rajasthan, is the nodal department. The Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 were issued by the Education (Group-4) Department under file number F. 3(14)Edu-4/2006-05050-7032831 and e-signed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education. Paragraph 3 requires the application demand draft to be made in favour of the Commissioner College Education Rajasthan, Jaipur, and the Commissioner is also the officer directed to publish the Guidelines, and the amending Order dated 22 July 2026, on the departmental website.

Q: Can a Rajasthan private university Bill be rejected even after the State Assembly passes it?

Yes. On 28 November 2022, Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra returned three private-university Bills already passed by the State Assembly, Dunes University (Jodhpur), Vyas Vidya Peeth University (Jodhpur), and Saurabh University (Hindaun City, Karauli), citing that the proposed universities were being established without following the prescribed land and building rules, and called for a high-level inquiry committee. Separately, earlier in 2022, the state government withdrew The Gurukul University Sikar Bill, 2022 after opposition legislators alleged that the infrastructure claimed in it existed only on paper (Source: The Print and Outlook India, 28 November 2022 reporting; Careers360 on the Gurukul University Sikar Bill withdrawal).

Q: How many private universities already exist in Rajasthan?

As of the UGC Consolidated List of State Private Universities dated 17 January 2024, Rajasthan had 53 recognised State Private Universities, the joint second-highest count of any Indian state, tied with Madhya Pradesh and behind Gujarat with 65. That list has since moved, so treat 53 as the count on that list date rather than a live figure, and check the current UGC (University Grants Commission) Consolidated List before relying on it (Source: UGC Consolidated List of State Private Universities, 17 January 2024).

Q: What is the difference between a Rajasthan State Private University and a UGC Deemed University?

A Rajasthan State Private University is created by a dedicated Act of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, one Act per institution, following the Revised State Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 as amended by the Order dated 22 July 2026, and is classified as a State Private University under Section 2(f) read with Section 22(1) of the UGC (University Grants Commission) Act. A UGC Deemed-to-be-University is a centrally-conferred status under Section 3 of the UGC Act, granted by the UGC rather than by any state government. Under the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023, an institution not funded by Government must create and maintain a corpus fund of rupees twenty-five crores, raised from rupees ten crores under the earlier 2019 regime. That central corpus requirement is separate from, and additional to, the State's own INR 25 Crore net-worth test on a Rajasthan sponsoring body. Because the deemed route is centrally regulated, confirm its current requirements directly with the UGC.

On 22 July 2026 Rajasthan Eliminated the Minimum Land Requirement for Private Universities. The Test Is No Longer How Much Land You Own. It Is What You Build.

To start a private university in Rajasthan under the Government of Rajasthan's Revised Guidelines for the Establishment of Private Universities by Separate Act, dated 10 February 2026 and amended by the Order dated 22 July 2026: (1) Register a non-proprietary Society, Public Trust, or Section 8 Company as the sponsoring body, with a minimum net worth of INR 25 Crore verified across five years of audited accounts and full disclosure of ownership, governance and funding sources; (2) Stop budgeting acreage, because there is no longer any minimum land requirement, and budget buildings instead: a minimum carpet area of 25,000 square metres with 25,000 square metres of open space, or 12,500 square metres of each on each of two plots no more than 2 km apart; (3) Provide the INR 10 Lakh application demand draft and establish the Endowment Fund, whose amount is fixed by a separate government order that is not in the public domain; (4) Secure a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the State Government, then file the compliance affidavit within a maximum of three years, after which the proposal stands rejected and the LOI is deemed withdrawn; (5) Clear two verification committees, one of them convened by the District Collector, each reporting within two months, then a dedicated Assembly Bill and the Governor's assent; (6) Notification in the Official Gazette. RAYSolute supports Rajasthan promoters through every stage.

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Your Rajasthan Roadmap at a Glance

01

Legal FoundationTrust, Society, or Section 8 Company, INR 25 Crore net worth
02

Buildings, Not AcreageNo land floor; 25,000 sq m carpet area plus 25,000 sq m open
03

The Capital TestINR 10 Lakh application, endowment fixed by separate order
04

The Approvals SequenceLOI, 3-year compliance window, two committees, Assembly Bill
05

The Competitive Landscape53 precedents, 10 named universities
06

City-Level NotesJaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Sikar, Kota

Legal Foundation Land & Site Endowment Fund Approvals Competitive Landscape City Notes Route Comparison FAQ Get Expert Help

Current To 31 July 2026: What This Page Is Current To, and the One Figure It Will Not Give You

Rajasthan eliminated the minimum land requirement for private universities on 22 July 2026. An Order of that date, issued by the Education (Group-4) Department under file No. F. 3(14)Edu-4/2006-05050-7032831, substituted paragraphs 9(ii) and 9(iii) of the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 and removed the acreage floor altogether. It acts on priority area PA-16 of the Government of India's Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Initiative Phase-II, "Eliminate Minimum Land Requirement for Private Universities". In its place sits a built-form test: a minimum carpet area of 25,000 square metres, plus 25,000 square metres of open space.

This page states the position under the Revised Guidelines dated 10 February 2026 as amended by that Order, and is current to 31 July 2026. The Guidelines dated 26 July 2007 and the Orders of 21 January 2011, 30 July 2012 and 1 February 2013 that amended them are superseded in practice and are not restated here as live requirements.

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