Banasthali Vidyapith

Banasthali Vidyapith was founded on 6 October 1935 by freedom fighters and educationists Hiralal Shastri and Ratan Shastri. The institution was declared as a 'Deemed University' in 1983.[3][4] While NAAC has re-accredited Banasthali Vidyapith at the highest possible ‘Grade A’ level in 2011, the Review Committee (Tandon Committee) of Ministry of HRD also appreciated the overall efforts of Vidyapith in the areas of Institutional Governance, Academic Achievements, Research, Student Progression, Infrastructure etc. and categorized Banasthali Vidyapith under ‘Category A’ list of ‘Institutions Deemed to be University’ in 2010. The university is featured in NIRF,[5] QS I Gauge,[6][7] and Times Higher Education[8] rankings. In 2020, NAAC accredited this university with A++ grading.[9][10]

The Vidyapith has had virtual autonomy for its school programmes since the beginning and was affiliated to an outside agency for its university programmes in 1983. In 1983, the government of India, on the advice of the University Grants Commission, notified the Vidyapith as an institution deemed to be university.[3]

After attaining university status, The Vidyapith restructured its undergraduate programme. At the postgraduate level, it introduced courses in Computer Science, Operational Research, Electronics and Biotechnology. Teacher Education and Management have been started. New courses include M.Sc. (Bio-Informatics), M.Sc. (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) and M.Sc. (Applied Microbiology).

Along with professional programmes such as MBA and MCA, all postgraduate courses in the Faculty of Science have a semester system. From 2004, all Social Science, Humanities and Home Science Post-graduate programmes have been run as semester courses.

The campus is a sprawling 850 acres, located about 80 kilometres from the capital city of Jaipur, in the Tonk district of Rajasthan, India.[2] The campus has been broadly divided into the school division, the University division and the residential blocks. The residential blocks feature 29 hostels each with the capacity of housing up to 438 students.[11]

The Laxmi Bai maidan(field) which is approximately 2660 square km. is used for parades and annual fairs, whereas the Vidula maidan (4195 sq. km. approx.) has fields for games such as hockey, volleyball, tennis, yoga, martial arts and mass physical display activities. The Veer Bala maidan is used for horse riding and the Shakuntlam playground is the cricket ground of the campus. The campus also features a swimming pool.[11]

The campus also features a licensed airstrip of 50,191,418 sq. metres, which is used to train the students in flying and guiding.[11][12][13]

Banasthali Vidyapith also features its own hospital called Apaji Arogya Mandir, a guest house for parents and official guests, and a community radio station called Radio Banasthali.[11]

• Sumitra Singh, Former Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
• Prof. (Dr.) Hemlata Talesra, educationalist and activist[24]
• Kamla Beniwal, governor of Gujarat[25]
• Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi, one of India's leading fighter pilots[26]
• Sunita Godara, marathon runner[25]
• Meira Kumar, speaker of Lok Sabha[25]
• Anuradha Bhattacharyya, writer and poet[27]
• Yashoda Devi, former Member of the Legislative Assembly[28]
• Atiqa Bano, educationist and activist[29]