New Delhi: The UGC has issued 16 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to 15 Foreign Higher Educational Institutions (FHEIs) from Australia, Italy, the US and the UK to set up campuses in Indian cities including Bengaluru, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chennai, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply, said the UGC regulatory framework is designed to ensure that the education imparted in India is of the same standard as that offered at the parent campus abroad, while also ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations in India.
These campuses would be governed in accordance with the University Grants Commission (UGC) (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations 2023, said the MoS.
He said the FHEIs proposing to open branch campuses in India have indicated to run programmes in business, economics, accounting, finance, software engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, game design, entrepreneurship, innovation, biomedical sciences, among other emerging fields to meet global academic and industry demands.
The UGC has instituted a single-window clearance mechanism and constituted a high-powered Standing Committee to evaluate the proposals for establishment of FHEI campuses in India.
The Committee examines the applications and makes recommendations to the Commission.
Based on these recommendations, UGC grants in-principle approval and issues a Letter of Intent. Only FHEIs ranked within the top 500 globally ranked universities are eligible, and applicants must submit the latest accreditation or quality assurance reports from recognised bodies, he said.
Majumdar said the qualifications awarded by FHEIs under the UGC Regulations shall be recognised and treated as equivalent to any corresponding qualification awarded by Indian Higher Educational Institutions, and no further equivalence from any authority would be required.
He said the government also constituted a ‘Facilitation Committee for FHEIs’ on 16 December 2025.
The Committee is mandated to assist the FHEIs in the establishment of their campuses in India, after the hand-over of the LoI by UGC.
The Committee also oversees and monitors the academic/financial/governance related aspects vis-a-vis the regulatory mechanisms in India, he said.
(IANS)
