Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) and Chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, has been conferred with the prestigious ‘Best Leader of Unaided Colleges of India’ award by Cabinet Minister Sh. Sanjeev Arora at the Iconic Leadership Awards held at Radisson Red, Mohali.
Expressing gratitude, Dr. Kataria thanked the Minister and stated that PUCA has been consistently working for the growth and welfare of unaided colleges in Punjab. He further highlighted that the association is now expanding at the national level with a vision to bring nearly 8,000 technical institutions onto a unified platform.
He added PUCA has already united with Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, with plans to extend across the country to guide youth, strengthen the education ecosystem, and contribute towards making India a global superpower by 2040, in line with the vision of the Prime Minister of India.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Kataria’s journey is highly inspiring — from being a school dropout after 10th to earning a Doctorate from UBS, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He began his career by working in various colleges across Punjab and later established the Aryans Group of Colleges. Over the years, he has emerged as a prominent educationist, currently serving as President of PUCA, President of the Federation of Self Financing Technical Institutions (FSFTI), All India, and Co-Chairman of the Joint Association of Colleges (JAC).
Established in 2015, PUCA has been actively working for the welfare and advancement of unaided colleges across Punjab. The association has taken up several key issues related to policy, regulations, and academics, many of which have been successfully resolved in the interest of institutions and students. It continues to serve as a strong unified platform for addressing concerns and strengthening the education ecosystem.
Dr. Anshu Kataria has consistently taken up critical issues concerning technical and professional education at the national level. Over the past 4–5 years, he has been approaching the Supreme Court of India, seeking extensions in admission cut-off dates for technical courses, thereby providing relief to lakhs of students and thousands of institutions.
He has also advocated for greater flexibility in India’s academic system, highlighting that while Indian students can pursue multiple intake cycles abroad, India traditionally followed only a July session. He welcomed the University Grants Commission’s recent move to introduce a January academic session as a progressive step.
Further, Dr. Kataria has emphasized the need for flexible learning reforms and has written to the Pharmacy Council of India urging rollback of the year-back system in pharmacy education.
He has also opposed making NEET mandatory for paramedical courses, stating that such programs are often accessible to economically weaker students and should not have restrictive entry barriers.
Additionally, Dr. Kataria has proposed policy-level interventions to convert non-operational engineering colleges into medical colleges, noting that infrastructure of nearly 500 institutions is lying unused. He has urged the government to extend financial support and enable their revival in the healthcare education sector.
Born in 1976 in the small town of Sri Muktsar Sahib, he faced significant hardships in his early life and had to discontinue his studies after the 9th standard. Determined to continue, he completed his +1 and +2 through part-time education while working at a chemist shop, followed by his B.Com while working in a relative’s firm. He later pursued his Master’s and Doctorate from Panjab University. Starting his career as a lecturer, he rose to become CEO of a reputed college before founding Aryans Group of Colleges in 2007 on just one acre of land, which has now grown into a 22-acre campus educating around 4,000 students. Today, he continues to work tirelessly for the welfare of nearly 8,000 students in technical education.
