16 Foreign Universities Get LoIs To Set Up In India; IIT Madras, IIT Delhi And IIM Ahmedabad Expand Abroad: Govt Tells Rajya Sabha

India is seeing a growing push to internationalise higher education, with the University Grants Commission (UGC) issuing 16 Letters of Intent (LoIs) to foreign higher education institutions looking to establish campuses in the country. At the same time, leading Indian institutes such as IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad have expanded their presence overseas.

The details were shared by the Ministry of Education in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question answered on August 12, 2026.

The 16 LoIs have been issued to foreign higher education institutions from Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Karnataka and Maharashtra have received the highest number of LoIs, with six each, followed by three in Delhi NCR and one in Tamil Nadu.

Four foreign universities approved in Mumbai

Maharashtra has emerged as a key destination for foreign university campuses. Of the six institutions that received LoIs for the state, four have been given approval to begin academic operations in Mumbai.

These include the University of York, University of Bristol, University of Aberdeen and Illinois Institute of Technology.

Meanwhile, the University of Southampton and the University of New South Wales have already established campuses in Gurugram and Bengaluru, respectively.

The expansion comes under the UGC's framework for foreign higher educational institutions introduced through the UGC Regulations, 2023.

IITs, IIM Ahmedabad expand overseas

The government also highlighted the overseas expansion of Indian institutions.

IIT Madras established its overseas campus in Zanzibar in 2023, followed by IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi in 2024. IIM Ahmedabad established its campus in Dubai in 2025.

At the IIT Madras Zanzibar campus, 35 students have so far graduated with MTech degrees in Data Science and AI and Ocean Structures. More than 100 students are currently enrolled in BS programmes in Data Science and Chemical Process Engineering.

IIT Delhi's Abu Dhabi campus offers nine undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes. The campus had 171 students in the 2025-26 academic year.

IIM Ahmedabad launched a one-year full-time MBA programme at its Dubai campus in September 2025, along with a General Management programme for professionals from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The MBA programme currently has 35 students.

Number of Indians studying abroad rose after 2021

The government, however, said that studying abroad remains an individual choice influenced by several factors, including affordability, access to finance, exposure to foreign societies and students' preference for particular areas of study.

Data from the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, showed that the number of Indians who disclosed study or education as their purpose of travel stood at 4,45,580 in 2021. The figure increased sharply to 7,52,100 in 2022 and reached 8,94,758 in 2023.

It subsequently declined to 7,60,060 in 2024 and further to 6,19,264 in 2025.

The government did not attribute the decline directly to the expansion of foreign university campuses in India or overseas campuses of Indian institutions.

Government lists NEP 2020 initiatives

In its reply, the Ministry said several measures have been taken under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education in India.

These include upgrading infrastructure in publicly funded institutions, expanding accreditation, promoting research and innovation and strengthening digital initiatives.

The UGC has also introduced measures covering joint, dual and twinning degree programmes, internship and apprenticeship-embedded degrees, Research and Development Cells, Professor of Practice initiatives and accessibility standards for higher education institutions.

Other initiatives mentioned by the government include the UTSAH portal to track the implementation of NEP 2020, Jeevan Kaushal 2.0 curriculum and guidelines and the Malaviya Mission Teachers Training Programme for continuous faculty development.

India improves global ranking presence

The government also pointed to India's growing presence in global higher education rankings.

According to the reply, 52 Indian institutions feature in the QS World University Rankings 2027, the country's highest-ever representation. This is a significant increase from 11 Indian institutions in the QS rankings in 2015.

India was also ranked 38th globally in the Global Innovation Index 2025 and remains one of the world's largest startup ecosystems.

The government said these developments reflect the broader effort to strengthen India's higher education and research ecosystem while improving its global standing.

Published on: Thursday, August 13, 2026, 03:17 PM IST