Deemed university: Institutions of higher learning, which are not universities, but granted the status of an university in recognition of their high standard of education. The status of a deemed university is accorded by the UGC. Section 3 of the UGC Act, provides for the conferring of this status of autonomy granted to high performing institutes and departments of various universities in India. Deemed university status brings not just full autonomy in setting course work and syllabus of those institutes and research centres but also allows them to set their own guidelines for the admissions, fees and instruction of the students.

As in other universities, students are conferred degrees on completion of their programme in deemed universities. There are 100 deemed universities in the country. National Institutes of Technology (formerly known as Regional Engineering Colleges), Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Symbiosis International Education Centre (Pune), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) are all deemed universities.

Private university: An institution of higher learning established through a state or central act by a sponsoring body, such as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in a state or a public trust or a company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

For an institution to be given the status of a private university, the state legislature conferring the status has to pass an Act by which the institution will receive the status. Private universities have to be recognised by the UGC if the degrees awarded by them have to be of any value. The Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani in Rajasthan, funded and run by the Birla Group Trust, became an officially recognised university in 1964.

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