Andhra Pradesh is set to get its first private women’s university, with the State Cabinet on Thursday approving the upgradation of Sri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, Bhimavaram, into Vishnu Women’s University. The Cabinet also cleared the conversion of Chalapathi Institute of Technology in Guntur district into Chalapathi University by amending the Andhra Pradesh Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, 2016.

Disclosing the details of Cabinet decisions, Information and Public Relatiions (I&PR) Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said that the two universities would promote multidisciplinary education, research, innovation and skill development. As mandated under the Act, 35% of seats will be filled under the government quota at concessional fees for students from socially and economically disadvantaged sections.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of a Government Degree College exclusively for hearing-impaired students at Vedullapalli in Bapatla district from the 2026-27 academic year. The college will initially admit 30 students and offer a B.Com (Computer Applications) programme along with a certificate course in Artificial Intelligence. The government said the institution would bridge the gap in higher education for nearly 450 hearing-impaired students who complete Intermediate every year.

Among other decisions, the Cabinet approved the transfer of government land in Visakhapatnam to AIG Hospitals for a nursing college and allied healthcare sciences campus, and exempted stamp duty and registration charges for leasing the SKIT campus in Tirupati district to JNTU-Anantapur to revive the closed engineering institution, he added.

Published - July 23, 2026 09:12 pm IST