Global campuses in India may help reduce foreign education outgoes by billions of dollars: Student success or a new high pricing layer?

The concept of ‘bringing Harvard to India’ has long been an appeal in India. The only new aspect here is not the slogan; it is the paperwork. At present, a total of three overseas universities are fully functional in India. These include Deakin University, University of Wollongong in GIFT City, Gujarat, and the University of Southampton in Gurugram, Delaware NCR.A number of overseas universities are in the pipeline to be opened in India with the new policies in place. These institutions include Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Liverpool, Victoria University, Western Sydney University, Istituto Europeo di Design, among others, which are scheduled to be opened between 2026-2027.

In “Global Universities Eye India Opportunity," prepared by Deloitte India and Knight Frank India, the authors suggest that if foreign universities truly expand their presence in the Indian education scenario, they could potentially accommodate over 560,000 students by 2040, conserve over US$113 billion in foreign exchange outgo, and create demand worth 19 million sq ft of education-related real estate.

As per the document, "India has the biggest pool of internationally aged university-going youngsters, the policy gates are finally opened, while the international universities are scanning the market in the wake of changing geopolitics." However, factoring in the geographical location. "The desired landing spots are not 'India' per se, but the individual metros." Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad are recognized as the most preferred options for international campuses, with Delhi NCR being the most ready among the lot.

What the Deloitte and Knight Frank Report Is Actually Stating

In India, there have been discussions about having “world-class” universities in the country for years. It’s been much more challenging to develop sufficient quality seats for the students already in the country. The report by Deloitte India and Knight Frank India. views foreign branch campuses less as a vanity ornament and far more like a pressure relief valve in a system in which demand continues to outstrip supply. This report estimates India’s post-secondary age population to be 155 million, growing to 165 million in 2030, and correlates the need for foreign branch campuses to a straightforward policy objective: a 50% GER objective in 2035, in a scenario in which the local infrastructure struggles to keep up. In this context, the foreign campus is a statement piece brought in; it’s a gesture towards a credible increase in local infrastructure before the ambition outstrips the capability.

Next comes the discussion about “cross-border friction” and how the tightening of visa regimes in the major destinations for studying abroad in the US, the UK, Canada, and the rest of the English-speaking sector of the Commonwealth towards the US and the “rise of global uncertainty” push the higher education sector to diversify not only in sourcing talents but also in the establishment of actual entities on the ground. India “emerges as a high conviction country not because there isn’t friction, but because the scale is so large and the policy infrastructure finally clearer – first through NEP 2020 and then the latest route through the UGC/IFSCA.”

Foreign Universities on Indian Soil: What is Available to Students?

Foreign campuses are sold as a prestige play. But for students, they are more useful as a bridge to minimize international system shocks. For higher education in India, foreign campuses could prove to be a competitive jolt that drives a higher set of standards for learning and outcomes.

International study experience without the international price tag

For the students, it’s getting used to a global pedagogy delivered in their own country: seminar-style lectures, continuous assessment, learning heavy in capstones, enhanced writing and research requirements, and project-based assessments which aren't just a slogan. Even if it looks almost the same on paper, it’s no longer a matter of how they do it: less regurgitation of answers, more arguing, more critiquing, more collaborating.

As far as the financial aspect goes, this is where the model becomes appealing: a student gets the benefit of the global faculty experience, education, and network while sidestepping the giant cost leak associated with overseas education, namely living costs, foreign exchange risk, and the unseen ‘survival expenses’ (security deposit, medical, insurance, emergency funds). It doesn’t make the off-shore campus affordable; it simply makes the risk more palatable.

To the world, it means global exposure, minus the border

“When the campus is located in India, the educational program is less dependent upon visa delays, changes in the rules, or the political whims of the day.” The fact is that the students have to vie for a spot, but “their educational experience is not interrupted by administrative red tape.” This is a major psychological boost, but particularly a benefit “to families who are budget-stretched.”

Sets the Bar High for Indian Institutions

Soon, the student is comfortable with the open grading, consistent assessment patterns, and plagiarism policies, and they begin to treat them less as ‘foreign university perks' and more as rights. It doesn't stop there, and this attitude trickles into interviews, class, and general discussion. Indian colleges, particularly the private ones vying for the same aggressive student base, will find it hard to improve their teaching and follow up with assessment results.

Quick syllabus turnarounds

Foreign universities always bring modifications in their programs in sync with changes in the employment sector and never when the committee convenes. They cannot in any way churn out new professionals with yesterday’s knowledge in the name of tradition. This faster pace can bring Indian higher education to bridge syllabus delay, especially in areas which are rather dynamic and include analytics, design tech, fintech, climate, and governance in AI.

Access to the world-wide network, locally

When done well, these campuses of international higher education can help the students leverage the international research environment without requiring the students to relocate to another country permanently. This would provide the students with international collaboration, international laboratory practices, international ethics of doing research, international writing practices, and international collaborative projects that will make the students stronger rather than merely “international.”

“The hidden costs of going global.”

Foreign universities could improve the quality, but they could also temper the disparities that already exist in the country.This is due to the fact that markets don’t exactly promote equal opportunity—the cost could lead to the already-benefitted gaining more benefits. The challenge will be if the entry of foreign Universities manages to improve the floor rather than the roof.

Premium-layer inequality

Foreign campuses might unwittingly introduce a “new top rung” to the Indian higher education system—that’s both global and gated. The framework offered by UGC offers foreign campuses a lot of autonomy when it comes to things like admission procedures and fees, as long as these procedures and fees are transparent or reasonable. If the fee structure remains at a higher rate (as it is bound to, given the foreign professors’ salaries and the need for infrastructure), the impact could be: More choices available to those who are already better-off, and a heightened sense of status for the rest.

The student disadvantage is far more than ‘can’t afford it’. It’s the social signal: 

A new class divide that redefines who gets the ‘best’ internships, mentorship, and networking opportunities - before merit gets a look-in.

Campuses are largely grouped around metros and affluent corridors, but the balance of the country has to rely upon a stretched domestic system. This isn't a phenomenon limited to India, however. The cluster pattern for branch campuses around the globe follows a structure that hinges around airports, employers, and affluent demand. However, it may reinforce a dangerous trend within an Indian context: “Opportunity in a limited number of cities, but students elsewhere pay migration costs, nonetheless-domestically, not internationally."

The frameworks themselves do not constitute metro capture, however, they also do not constitute a solution to it. Lack of a clear strategy on access could enable "internationalization" to also become a metro privilege.

fee inflation spillover Even if the number of campuses being established outside is limited, they are able to revise the price structure. When one campus charges high tuition fees, the rest are likely to move along the same lines by labeling the normal programs as “global” ones. What UGC's regulations emphasize is the transparency of fees and regulation, although there is not a strict price cap imposed. Thus, the negative externality: 

The plausibility of higher fees in the entire system, with no commensurate improvement in teaching standards. Faculty Market Disruption Foreign campuses can alter the market for academic labor promptly. A foreign campus may lure away the best teachers from an Indian institution, and this could raise the standards of the foreign campus and diminish them elsewhere, especially in medium institutions which are finding it difficult to retain teachers. Foreign campuses can employ lecturers according to their own standards. It’s excellent for quality on campus. But in terms of the system as a whole, it could widen the gap in capabilities. It means elite pockets will be enhanced.

The middle may become less. Bottom Line Foreign universities operating on Indian soil are neither the silver bullet nor a threat per se. If handled carefully, they can open up more options for the student community and help set higher standards and take the system forward. If handled the wrong way, they can be the exclusive clubs for the elite. The future would depend not on the "intentions but the actions."