Pondicherry University is a central university in Puducherry, India. Founded in 1985 by the Government of India, the university is a collegiate university with a jurisdiction spread over the Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.It has 35,000 students in its 87 affiliated colleges including 27,000 students in the distance education mode. The current strength of students studying on-campus stands at 6,500.