Chandigarh: Punjab will introduce a bill in the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly to pave the way for digital universities, with edtech platform Physics Wallah set to establish the state’s first such institution, education minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Monday. The minister said the proposed legislation will enable the establishment of AI-driven digital universities in line with University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, allowing students to pursue degree and diploma programmes remotely.Physics Wallah has already received approval from the state-empowered committee of higher education to set up a digital university on a three-acre site in Patiala. Punjab govt’s Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur World Class University at Anandpur Sahib will also function as an AI university, while three more proposals are in the pipeline, Bains said. “Punjab is turning into an education hub. The bill will be tabled in the upcoming assembly session,” he said, adding that Punjab was the first state to introduce AI as a subject from Class I to XII.The state cabinet had approved the Punjab Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026, on Jan 15 to facilitate self-financed private digital open universities. Bains said another bill to cap annual fee hikes in private schools at 5% will also be introduced during the session beginning Aug 3. The move follows the governor’s assent to the Punjab Regulation of Fees of Unaided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, which also mandates refunds where fee increases have exceeded 15% over the past three years.
