The UGC Has Issued Restrictions For International Universities Wishing To Establish A Campus In India

Following Western Sydney University's announcement of plans to establish an independent campus in Bangalore, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday notified regulations allowing foreign universities ranked among the world's top 500 to set up branch campuses in India, determine their admission process and fee structure, and repatriate funds to their parent campuses.

Two or more universities may combine to establish campuses in India, provided that each school satisfies the qualifying criteria on its own. Each foreign institution is permitted to establish more than one campus in India. They must, however, submit a separate application to the commission for each planned campus.

The guidelines were notified almost 10 months after the draft was made public for feedback. Based on the inputs, the final regulations have been tweaked. For instance, the final rules mandate that foreign universities should ensure that international faculty appointed to teach at the Indian campuses stay in the country for at least a semester.

In addition, the final regulations extended the time it takes the standing committee to consider applications from 45 to 60 days. The committee's recommendations should be presented to the UGC in 60 days, rather than 45 days as stated in the draught regulations.