As a part of the, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative ’Make in India' campaign  which seeks to draw foreign investment – the government has initiated yet another project by asking its policy think tank, Niti Aayog to prepare a framework for opening doors to foreign universities.

National Institution for Transforming India (Niti) Aayog plans to organise meetings to consult all stakeholders including the HRD , state governments and UGC  on different models for clearance of foreign education providers and a set of regulations to ensure their academic and administrative independence is not jeopardised. This consultation report will then be submitted to the Prime Minister’s office.

The foreign education providers has been awaiting attention of the government for a long time as a large population from India heads to study in the UK, US, Australia and other foreign countries  in search of quality education, better employment opportunities and lifestyle choices.

Officials said the proposed legislation will provide a central policy guideline for such institutions and will be a mix of seven models available across the world. The PM met members of the Niti Aayog, HRD ministry, UGC and commerce ministry in June this year to understand the possibility of transforming India into an Asian higher education hub with several foreign universities expressing interest in setting up campuses here.

SIEM India will be keeping a close watch on the next steps in progress for the foreign education providers’ bill and shall continue to update the UK sector.

In the meanwhile if UK Institutions would like to explore collaborations and partnerships with local institutions in specific subjects, please get in touch with Shruti Khanna and siemsouthasia@britishcouncil.org

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