From Policy to Practice: Governance Reforms and Commercialization in Indian Higher Education

Abstract

Commercialization has become one of the most influential forces reshaping higher education in India, particularly in the decades following economic liberalization. While global market pressures are often viewed as the central driver, this paper argues that commercialization is largely the outcome of deliberate state action—expressed through legislative reforms, regulatory restructuring, judicial interventions, and shifting public-finance priorities. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of national policies, Five-Year Plans, major committee reports, regulatory statutes, budget documents, and international frameworks, this paper traces the evolution of state-led commercialization from the National Policy on Education (1986) to the National Education Policy (2020). The analysis reveals how the government's changing governance approach transformed higher education from a welfare-oriented public service into a system increasingly shaped by competition, private participation, cost recovery, and performance-based mechanisms. The paper examines the gap between policy objectives and actual practice and highlights the consequences of commercialization for equity, quality, and accountability. It concludes that commercialization is now structurally embedded in Indian higher education, with the State functioning simultaneously as enabler, regulator, and promoter of market-oriented reforms.