India’s Education Boom: Foreign Universities Eager To Set Up Campuses In India
New Delhi, 1st August 2023: On July 29, in commemoration of the third anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam 2023. In his address at the event, Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s increasing significance as a hub of boundless opportunities. He revealed that several countries had reached out to India to establish Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) campuses, and foreign universities had expressed interest in setting up campuses within India.
Prime Minister Modi proudly cited India’s remarkable achievements in software and space technologies, asserting that competing with India’s capabilities was a challenging task. He also expressed confidence in India’s defence technology strategy of focusing on ‘least cost’ and ‘highest quality,’ which he believed would lead to success.
The Prime Minister emphasized that India’s education system had earned immense respect worldwide, given the country’s growing industrial reputation and flourishing start-up ecosystem. He proudly announced that Indian institutes were consistently climbing the global rankings. Moreover, he declared the establishment of two IIT campuses in Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi.
During his speech, Prime Minister Modi disclosed that numerous other countries had requested India to open IIT campuses within their borders, which reflected the international recognition of India’s evolving education ecosystem. Additionally, he revealed that foreign universities were eager to set up campuses in India, which was made possible by the favorable changes in the country’s education sector. He further announced that two Australian institutions would be establishing campuses in Gujarat’s GIFT City.
It was also revealed that IIT Delhi had plans to inaugurate a new international campus in Abu Dhabi, UAE, by 2024. The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, had announced the signing of an agreement between the two governments for this purpose earlier on July 15.
In January, Professor Rangan Banerjee, the head of IIT Delhi, stated in an interview with News18 that discussions about establishing a new campus in Abu Dhabi had been ongoing since the previous year.
Additionally, IIT Madras had already announced the opening of its campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, which would be the first-ever worldwide IIT campus starting in October of the current year. Furthermore, IIT Kharagpur was also exploring the possibility of establishing an international campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
