India–France education ties deepen as France targets 30,000 Indian students by 2030

France has once again pushed to be a main destination for higher education Indian students. On February 19, French President Emmanuel Macron repeated the country's plan to have 30, 000 Indian students studying in France by 2030.

The target was initially revealed in 2023 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris for the National Day celebrations when he was the chief guest. After that, the French government has introduced several student- friendly measures to facilitate the movement of students for education between the two nations. Since then, French authorities have rolled out multiple student-friendly measures to accelerate academic mobility between the two countries.

The French Embassy in India has introduced a five-year short-stay Schengen visa facility and proposed “international classes” — preparatory programmes combining intensive French language training with academic coursework. The plan is aimed particularly at easing the transition for Indian students entering French universities.

Macron also revealed that the visa and administrative processes will be made simpler, especially for those working towards long term programmes such as doctoral research, thereby indicating France's desire to be a research centre for Indian students.

The major step in academic cooperation is the establishment of the AIIMS New DelhiSorbonne UniversityParis Brain Institute collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi also participating. The Indo, French Centre for AI in Health that has been opened by Macron and Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda will concentrate on artificial intelligence, based medical research, brain health and clinical innovation.

Besides education, collaboration in strategic areas, Macron pointed out the need for technological self-reliance on which he revealed that India and France must create AI systems that they can trust together and thus, be less dependent on foreign technologies.

The move is part of a bigger diversification strategy and re-balancing of the partnership towards the research collaboration, student exchange, healthcare innovation and technology collaboration, thus making education a central pillar of the India, France relationship.