Offices in diplomatic outposts to help global varsities set campuses in India-US

In a significant development, India is preparing to open its doors to foreign universities, and a collaborative task force composed of representatives from the United States and India has put forth a proposal. The recommendation entails the creation of specialised offices within their respective diplomatic missions, aimed at facilitating the establishment of branch campuses for international universities in both countries.

This preliminary suggestion is among the achievements of the joint task force, whose contributions and proposals were recognised in a joint statement issued on Friday following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden.

The American delegation on the committee consisted of esteemed individuals such as Neeli Bendapudi, the president of Pennsylvania State University; Robert J. Jones, the chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Pradeep K. Khosla, the chancellor of the University of California San Diego; Satish K. Tripathi, the president of the University at Buffalo; and Sunil Kumar, the provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University (who is scheduled to assume the presidency of Tufts University on July 1). On the Indian side, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were represented, as mentioned in the joint statement.

The committee was entrusted with the task of exploring fresh avenues for collaboration between American and Indian educational institutions, focusing on the development of innovative engagement models.