Internationalizing Indian Higher Education

India’s role in international education has traditionally been as a major sending country; according to Open Doors data, between the 2000–01 and 2019–20 academic years, there was a 253 percent increase in the number of Indian students studying in the United States. However, in recent years, the country has renewed its focus on becoming a destination country for international students and ramping up internationalization efforts on campuses across India.

The central government has recognized that the internationalization of India’s higher education sector is crucial to the development of its overall higher education system. The country’s National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) formalized these efforts at the national, state, and institution levels.

This significant undertaking, which outlines areas of reform and steps needed to achieve its goals, is especially impressive for a country as large as India, given the size and scope of its higher education sector. The initiative is also intended to address some of the long-standing challenges to educational reform, which contribute to the push and pull of internationalization efforts in India.

NEP 2020 and Internationalization

The NEP 2020 aims to internationalize Indian campuses in a variety of ways, focusing on both domestic and inbound students. For domestic students, the policy creates global immersion programs, encourages Indian universities to open branch campuses in other countries, and allows foreign universities to operate in India, facilitated through a new legislative framework.

To attract international students, the policy provides low-cost, quality education; simplifies visa and internship policies; allocates funding for Indian