The University Grant Commission has announed the the MPhil is not a recognised degree and has instructed Universities to immediately discontinue inviting applications for the MPhil program.

“It has come to the notice of the UGC that a few Universities are inviting fresh applications for the MPhil (Master of Philosophy) programme. In this regard, it is to bring to the notice that the MPhil degree is not a recognized degree,” - UGC

In 2022, the UGC had announced the discontinuation of the MPhil program. The UGC has framed the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD) Regulations in November 2022. As per regulation 14, it has been clearly stated that institutes of higher education shall no longer offer the MPhil program. However, in the same regulations, Regulation 3(2) says that "Candidates who have completed the M.Phil. programme with at least 55% marks in aggregate will be eligible for applying for PhD".

In Regulation 16, the UGC says:

Award of Ph.D. degrees prior to Notification of these Regulations.- Award of degrees to candidates registered for the Ph.D. programme on or after July 11, 2009, till the date of Notificationof these Regulations shall be governed by the provisions of the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2009 or the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degrees) Regulations, 2016 as the case may be. Further, the award of degrees to candidates already registered and pursuing Ph.D. shall be governed by these Regulations or UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2016. Nothing in these Regulations shall impact the M.Phil. degree programmes commencing prior to the enactment of these Regulations.

After it came to the notice of the UGC that some Universities were still announcing fresh admissions to the MPhil program even after the UGC announcement last year to discontinue the program, the UGC today announced that the MPhil is no longer a recognised Degree. This announcement of the MPhil not being a recognised Degree any longer is meant for students who are still applying for the MPhil program at these Universities.