The effective implementation of blended learning for transforming higher education is hindered by a lack of consensus on its definition. There is a dearth of comprehensive attempts to understand blended learning at the intersection of policy documents and academic literature, particularly in the Indian higher education context. This common understanding is, however, crucial for adding merit to the research and policy initiatives by empirically interlinking them. In its light, the study attempts to understand the term blended learning at the intersection of policy-academia discussions in India. Based on a constant comparison methodology for thematic analysis of various global and national policies and academic research, the study finds three points of discord in defining blended learning, i.e. (i) multi-perspectives on the ingredients of blended learning, (ii) technological hegemony, and (iii) backsliding of the institutional role. This study concludes by proposing a three-fold comprehensive definition of blended learning.