“There are certainly UK universities that are very close to announcing their India branch campuses,” some being months or even “weeks away”, Avantika Tomar, partner at EY Parthenon Education Practice told delegates of India Week’s Education Innovation conference on July 3.  

Tomar did not name the institutions that are expected to set up the first UK branch campuses in India, joining Australian universities of Wollongong and Deakin that already have campuses in Gujarat’s GIFT City. 

The stage was set for greater overseas investment by India’s New Education Policy 2020, “India’s declaration to the world that ‘we’re open’” according to Tomar.  

India’s NEP was announced in 2020 and is still in the process of being implemented. It included a restructuring of the curriculum and encouraged greater internationalisation and collaboration with overseas institutions.

The policy allowed branch campuses to set up in India for the first time, though uptake was slow to get off the ground due to the complexities of bureaucracy, hiring and finances for international universities.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, also called GIFT City, provides a “red-carpet welcome” to higher education where universities can repatriate 100% of their profits rather investing them back into India, and where the precedent has been set by the establishment of two Australian branch campuses, Tomar explained.  

India’s student population is set to more than double from 40 million in 2020 to 93m by 2035

Though it is still in its nascent stages, UK TNE enrolments in India grew by 43% from 8,370 in 2020/21 to 11,950 in 2021/22, largely driven by ‘light touch TNE’ such as online courses, articulation arrangements and validation.

Alongside the fertile regulatory environment, India’s fast-growing student population and shifting cultural expectations have set the stage for more international branch campuses.  

“Traditionally, India has seen education as a not-for-profit sector, a work of God, therefore making money from it has been a ‘no-no’ for a long time. 

“Now there has been a big mindset change and the country is opening up to the fact that there is nothing wrong in making money as long as you’re improving the quality of education,” said Tomar.  

According to the UK India Business Council, India’s student population is set to more than double from 40 million in 2020 to 93m by 2035. Given that travelling overseas for education is not possible for the vast majority, India offers huge potential for TNE enrolments.  

India is now the most important market for UK university international recruitment, with the number of Indian students in the UK growing by 543% from 2017/18 to 2021/22, according to HESA.  

However, there is “an enormous imbalance” between the number of Indian students coming to the UK – roughly 120,000 – and those studying British degrees in India – approximately 12,000 – Mike Winter, director of international affairs at UCL told the conference. 

While the NEP is helping to ease the mobility of students and encourage greater collaboration between India and the UK, India still does not recognise online distance learning degrees offered by UK universities.  

“This is despite the fact that across India’s higher education system, more than 10% of students are studying at distance in India at open UK universities,” said Winter, who urged the Indian government to recognise the degrees as a valuable means of internationalisation. 

And yet, despite the growing appetite, “do not overestimate the demand for TNE in India – people tend to overestimate which leads to inaccurate budgeting,” Tara Panjwani, UK India Business Council higher education lead advised delegates. 

“Do your homework first – understand the demand but also understand the supply – you won’t be the first university to set up in India, there will be competition so don’t assume anything,” added Tomar.  

The panelists also urged UK universities to take into consideration India’s cultural differences and vast regional variations when establishing branch campuses, and that successful TNE ventures are based on equitable human partnerships.