The approved foreign universities are set to open campuses in cities including Bengaluru, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chennai.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued 16 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to 15 foreign higher educational institutions from Australia, Italy, the US and the UK to establish campuses in India, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
The approved foreign universities are set to open campuses in cities including Bengaluru, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chennai. Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said the move aims to expand global education opportunities in India while ensuring quality standards.
He said the UGC framework ensures that education provided by foreign universities in India matches the standards of their parent campuses abroad while complying with Indian laws and regulations.
UGC sets rules for foreign campuses
The new campuses will operate under the University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023.
Majumdar said the foreign institutions planning to set up campuses in India have proposed courses in areas such as business, economics, finance, software engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, game design, entrepreneurship, innovation and biomedical sciences.
The UGC has created a single-window clearance system and formed a high-powered Standing Committee to assess applications from foreign universities seeking to establish campuses in India.
The committee reviews proposals and makes recommendations to the UGC, which then grants in-principle approval and issues a Letter of Intent.
Only foreign institutions ranked among the top 500 global universities are eligible to apply. Applicants are also required to submit accreditation and quality assurance reports from recognised bodies.