Centre eases rules for foreign universities' entry into India via GIFT City

The government has made it very clear, however, that this freedom comes with conditions

The Centre is easing some of its rigid rules for foreign universities to establish their branches in the Gujarat International Fin-Tec (GIFT) City, currently under construction in poll-bound Gujarat's Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The Centre has decided to free foreign universities of all stringent rules that are followed domestically along with ridding them of "controls on fee, admissions, faculty appointments and profit repatriation".

This is in line with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 2022 budget speech, wherein she had announced that “world-class foreign universities would be allowed to operate in the GIFT City, free from domestic regulations.”

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The government has made it very clear, however, that this freedom comes with the condition that the universities must maintain the same quality of education and the status and recognition that they enjoy in their parent jurisdiction. Along with that, the student selection process and grievance redressal mechanism, and the name of the Indian campus must be identical to the parent branch.

"Foreign universities from the US, UK and Australia have already indicated interest in the GIFT city model and regime. We are very confident that the new regulations will evoke a positive response in leading foreign universities and institutes. The regulations offer a deregulated regime for foreign institutes that choose to come to India but with provisions for protection of student interest," Dipesh Shah, executive director of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), told ET.

It must be noted that only a foreign university that ranks among the top 500 in the latest QS ranking can apply to set up a branch in India. They must furnish details of trustees, fee structure, curricula, infrastructure, funding details and a quality assurance audit report.

Meetings between FM Sitharaman and foreign universities are already under way. Parliamentary approvals are expected to be achieved in the upcoming winter session.