Foreign Universities in India
Higher education in India potentially represents a trillion dollar industry that can be captured by foreign investors, said Kapil Sibal, India’s Union Minister for Human Resource Development, here June 5.
“Education is our next big sector of growth,” said Sibal, noting that the current $80 billion industry in India was set to boom following the March 2010 passage of the Foreign Education Bill in the Union cabinet.
India has for the past decade allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment by educational institutions outside of India. It has not, however, allowed foreign universities to confer degrees on students in India.
The proposed bill — which will be introduced in Parliament this summer — does allow foreign universities to award degrees to students in India.
“We have now initiated a clear environment for the education sector,” Sibal, a member of Parliament, told India-West at a briefing here at the Taj Campton Place Hotel.
Fresh off a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C. (see separate story), Sibal also gave a talk at Stanford University June 4 on the challenges in getting students into higher education in India. He then attended a luncheon at the Campton Place hotel June 5 with educators from many local universities.
We would love to hear your opinion and views on this in the comments below.
