New Delhi: A Group of Ministers on Wednesday cleared the draft of a Bill that would allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
"We will come out with a new law that will enable foreign education institutions to operate in the country. Today, a consensus was reached on the elements of the Bill," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on the sidelines of India Economic Summit.
The GoM, headed by Human Resource and Development Minister Arjun Singh, considered the Bill after it was referred to it by the Cabinet.
The Cabinet had considered the proposal for Regulation of Foreign University Entry and Operation (Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill early this year.
The Bill would be finalised in a month and contain safeguards. The consensus on elements of the Bill is significant as the GoM was earlier reportedly divided on the question of reservation in these universities and extent of foreign direct investment in them.
The proposed Bill will allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India after obtaining clearances, including from University Grants Commission.
They will be given a status of deemed universities. The foreign universities would have to run the India campuses all by themselves and no franchising system is likely to be allowed.
Nath said as many as 1,30,000 students go to foreign universities annually. Even if half of them decide to study in Indian campuses of these universities, the potential for Indian universities is huge.
According to a Commerce Ministry consultation paper, Indian students in foreign universities spend $ 4 billion every year.
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