Dr. Patangrao Kadam established Bharati Vidyapeeth in Pune in 1964. The mission that Bharati Vidyapeeth has defined for itself is to bring about intellectual awakening of people through the spread of education and to prepare human resources needed for all round development, particularly economic, of the country.

Humble Beginning

Bharati Vidyapeeth had a very humble beginning. Bharati Vidyapeeth had its birth in a small room in a remote corner of an old part of Pune City. The onlookers then could not digest the word “Vidyapeeth” (University) in the name “Bharati Vidyapeeth”. A newspaper once sarcastically commented that this Vidyapeeth borne in a congested lane of Pune City, would meet its natural death there itself. But that was not to be so. Bharati Vidyapeeth flourished and flourished extensively. It achieved ever greater heights of success. It went in search of new horizons and expanded its sphere of activities at an unbelievable speed.

It was around 1963, when he was still a part time school teacher that Dr. Kadam was disturbed on seeing that not many Maharashtrian students could get admissions to national level institutions such as National Defence Academy or clear competitive examinations. He noted that the root cause of this was a relatively weak foundation of these students in subjects such as English and Mathematics. With a view to promote interest and liking in the minds of the students for these two subjects, Bharati Vidyapeeth, since its inception, started conducting competitive examinations for school going children in the same. This subsequently became its major activity, which still continues.

Bharati Vidyapeeth Today

Since its inception, Bharati Vidyapeeth has made astonishing strides in the field of education, particularly, higher and professional education. Now, it conducts around 180 educational units of various kinds’ right from pre-primary schools to postgraduate institutions and a university. It runs more than 78 schools and 60 institutions of higher education, including those of professional education. Among these are colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Ayurved, Homeopathy, Nursing, Pharmacy, Engineering, Management, Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Environment Science, Agriculture etc.

With a view to promote research activities and to create a research culture on its campuses, Bharati Vidyapeeth has established five specialized research institutes in the areas of Health Related Sciences, Biotechnology, Information Technology, Applied Chemistry and Social Sciences.

Today, Bharati Vidyapeeth has its campuses in New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Karad, Satara, and Panchgani and at quite a few other places. Bharati Vidyapeeth is probably the only organization from Maharashtra having its campus in the capital city of India. It is not in the urban areas alone that Bharati Vidyapeeth has started its institutions. Its schools and colleges have dotted rural areas and even the remotest tribal and coastal areas of Maharashtra.

The corporate office of Bharati Vidyapeeth is located in the prestigious area of Deccan Gymkhana in the city of Pune. Its 10 storied building, once the tallest in Pune, is a landmark of the city.

Inception of Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University)

April 26, 1996 was the moment of crowning glory in the life of Bharati Vidyapeeth, as well as, of Dr. Kadam. It is the day the Government of India, on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission, granted the status of “Deemed to be University” to a cluster of 12 institutions of Bharati Vidyapeeth in appreciation of their academic excellence. It was the day a dream come true for Dr. Kadam who cherished an ambition of gaining the stature of a university for Bharati Vidyapeeth since its inception. Thus, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) came into existence on that day. It was a unique Deemed to be University.

The Govt. of India has brought the following seven institutions of Bharati Vidyapeeth located in different cities within the purview of Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) as its constituent institutions vide their Notification No. E9-16/2004-U3 dt. 25/02/2005. With the inclusion of these seven institutions located at different places. Bharati VidyapeethUniversity has now become a multi-campus Deemed University.

1. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management and Research, New Delhi
2. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture, Pune
3. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Pune
4. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Yashwantrao Mohite Institute of Management, Karad, Dist. Satara
5. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management. Kolhapur
6. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Institute of Management and Rural Development Administration, Sangli
7. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Abhijit Kadam Institute of Management and Social Sciences, Solapur

In addition, the Govt. of India has also brought the following two colleges within the ambit of Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) vide their Notification No. F9-7/2004-U,3 dt.19/08/2004.

1. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Medical College and Hospital, Sangli
2. Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Dental College and Hospital, Navi Mumbai

Unlike most of the Deemed Universities in the country, Bharati Vidyapeeth is a multi-disciplinary and multi-campus Deemed University, presently having under its umbrella 29 institutions of various disciplines. The University has established its credentials and reputation as a leading Deemed University in the country. Taking advantage of the autonomy which it has and the flexibility which it can offer, this University has introduced numerous innovative academic programmes and activities.