The recent announcement of Prakash Javadekar, the Union HRD minister, to grant autonomy to select higher education institutions in India will pave way for fundamental reforms in higher education policy, regulation and governance. The historic decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to ensure high autonomy to 60 higher education institutions among over 50,000 institutions is truly path-breaking. The select group comprises of 52 universities (five central universities; 21 state universities; 24 deemed universities; two private universities) and eight colleges. The decision to grant autonomy has come at the right time when there is an aspiration to build a world-class higher education system. It is useful to understand the importance of autonomy.