Bharati Vidyapeeth is an educational society and group of higher educational institutions headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded in 1964 by Patangrao Kadam, an educationist and politician associated with the Indian National Congress. Over the decades, the society has expanded from a small set of schools into a multi-disciplinary network covering school education, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, professional courses, and research.
| Name | Bharati Vidyapeeth |
|---|---|
| Type | Educational society and group of institutions |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | Patangrao Kadam |
| Headquarters | Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Affiliated deemed university | Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) |
Bharati Vidyapeeth was set up at a time when access to higher education in western Maharashtra was limited, particularly for students from rural areas. Patangrao Kadam established the society with the stated aim of providing education across disciplines and regions. The society's growth coincided with the broader expansion of private and trust-run educational institutions in Maharashtra during the latter half of the twentieth century.
A central component of the group is Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), which was granted deemed-to-be-university status by the Government of India on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission. The deemed university operates constituent units in fields including medicine, dentistry, engineering, management, law, pharmacy, social sciences, environment science, and computer applications.
The Bharati Vidyapeeth network includes institutions in several Indian cities, with its main campus at Dhankawadi in Pune. Major academic verticals include:
Bharati Vidyapeeth is among the larger private educational groups based in Maharashtra and is regarded as one of the prominent multi-disciplinary deemed universities in India. Its medical, dental, and engineering institutions in particular have contributed to the development of Pune as a major centre of higher education. The group is also active in research areas such as environmental education and biotechnology.