India’s ambition to establish itself as a premier global education hub is gathering pace, with top institutions from the United Kingdom and Australia launching campuses under a government policy to internationalise the country’s higher education system.
However, analysts caution that the benefits of these improvements may not be evenly distributed, as most progress is expected to be concentrated in major cities. They also argue that partnerships with foreign universities are unlikely to stem India’s ongoing brain drain or resolve deeper structural issues in the education system.
Last week, union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan issued Letters of Intent to four foreign universities – Australia’s Western Sydney University, Victoria University and La Trobe University, as well as the UK’s University of Bristol – to establish campuses in India.
The announcement came just days after Pradhan inaugurated the India campus of the University of Southampton in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi – the first operational foreign university in the country. The minister has since indicated that up to 15 such institutions could open Indian campuses during the current academic year.
The move builds on a policy change announced in 2022 that allows top-ranked international universities to set up stand-alone branches in India, marking a shift from previous rules that limited foreign involvement to partnerships and twinning programmes.
These developments could be a “game changer” for India, which saw over 1.3 million students travel abroad for higher education in 2024 – a 52.2 percent increase over five years, according to The Hindustan Times.
According to Abhijit Bhaduri, a US-based global talent strategist and former Microsoft executive, quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper, the entry of foreign universities will foster “ecosystem agility” and help bridge India’s skills gap in critical areas such as artificial intelligence – a field currently underdeveloped across most Indian institutions.
“The real transformation isn’t just academic quality. It’s about producing domain-strong, emotionally intelligent professionals who can bridge silos,” Bhaduri said. Indian faculty too, he added, would evolve from subject experts to collaborative mentors.
The changing education landscape is also expected to reduce costs for Indian students, especially at a time when visa uncertainties and shrinking job opportunities abroad have added to anxieties around overseas education.
Bhaduri noted that more Indian students may choose to study domestically – not only for cost reasons but also because “staying local no longer feels like a compromise”.
“We’ll see hybrid pathways emerge – alternating semesters, split degrees – creating global professionals with local grounding. India is likely to become the use case for artificial intelligence, given its population and tech-friendly nature,” he said.
Some Indian institutions are already forging cross-border ties. According to media reports, Delhi Technological University has signed a five-year agreement with the University of Houston for joint research, student exchanges, and potential dual-degree programmes.
India has long suffered from a brain drain, as students and faculty alike migrate abroad, impacting sectors such as engineering, healthcare, and education. Analysts believe that could change if New Delhi is able to reinforce the shift underway in higher education.
Bhaduri suggested this may even lead to a “reverse brain flow”, with international students, teachers, and professionals choosing India over Western destinations. “India becomes a talent destination, not just a talent exporter, fundamentally altering the geography of global education,” he said.
Some Indian institutions, such as Ashoka University, are already setting new benchmarks by adopting multidisciplinary models that integrate natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, while focusing on foundational knowledge and research.
However, many private educational institutions in India still operate as mere training centres, investing heavily in advertising to lure students, said Supriyo Chaudhuri, CEO of the UK-based higher education consultancy e1133, which collaborates with universities worldwide, including in India.
The entry of internationally reputed universities will bring “greater process orientation and people focus” to education in the private sector, Chaudhuri said, adding that it would instil more discipline and help attract the “right people”.
Foreign institutions are primarily targeting major urban centres such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, the Delhi National Capital Region, and Mumbai. While this may limit the overall impact, “it would at least raise the game in those areas,” Chaudhuri noted.
“I would love to believe this would have a trickle-down effect on other geographies,” he said. “But as we’ve seen in the past, such diffusion rarely occurs. More likely, ambitious students will migrate from their hometowns to these educational hubs.”