Why Should India Wait for Foreign Campuses?

It’s Time for India to Build Its Own Harvards

By Arvind Kumar Mishra

India is at a defining crossroads in its education journey. With over 40 million students enrolled in higher education institutions (AISHE 2021–22), we represent the world’s largest college-going population. Yet, a significant share of our youth continues to seek education overseas, drawn by global exposure, academic reputation, and employment prospects. As of January 2023, over 1.3 million Indian students were studying abroad (Ministry of External Affairs), reflecting not just ambition but a stark absence of homegrown institutions that match international standards.

This trend comes at a steep cost. Over the past decade, Indians have spent an estimated $47 billion on foreign education — Rs 67,000 crore in 2022 alone. For most Indian families, sending a child abroad means exhausting savings, taking on burdensome loans, and enduring years of financial uncertainty. The economics are punishing: annual tuition at top-tier universities like Harvard or Stanford can reach $70,000 per year (upwards of Rs. 60 lakh), excluding living costs of another $20,000–$30,000. Beyond the financial strain, students often face loneliness, lack of support systems, and mental health challenges far from home.

The outlook abroad is also shifting. Many countries are tightening immigration rules, reducing post-study work rights, and raising visa barriers. The UK, for instance, has restricted international students from bringing dependents. The US remains unpredictable in terms of work visa conversions. These realities only reinforce the urgent need for India to provide credible, aspirational alternatives within its own borders.

This is the moment to ask: why must India depend solely on global universities to set up campuses here? Why can’t we create institutions that match them in quality and ambition, but are rooted in Indian ethos and driven by Indian leadership?

This is where the idea of India creating its own globally competitive institutions becomes vital. We must ask: why should India rely only on foreign universities to open campuses on our soil? Why can’t we build our own Harvards, institutions conceived with Indian vision, backed by Indian capital, and steeped in Indian values? A powerful example of this ambition is Vedanta Group’s recent announcement. The conglomerate issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting state governments and local administrations to partner in a bold, non-profit education initiative. Vedanta has pledged Rs 15,000 crore to develop a world-class waterfront Education City, designed to house a cutting-edge research university, innovation hubs, medical colleges, faculty exchange programs, and an international convention center. The proposed university will span a wide range of disciplines including engineering, medicine, public health, humanities, and drug discovery research. Modeled on Boston City, this initiative reflects the potential of Indian-led, globally benchmarked academic ecosystems.

The recent QS World University Rankings 2025 offer a glimmer of hope. For the first time, seven of the eight Indian universities that made their debut into the rankings are private institutions. This marks a significant and encouraging shift in India’s higher education landscape, evidence that private enterprise, when enabled, can deliver academic excellence.

The Government Is Pushing, But It’s Not Enough Alone

India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provides a solid policy foundation. It envisions raising the Gross Enrolment Ratio to 50% by 2035, welcomes multidisciplinary learning, and allows global universities to set up Indian campuses. The GIFT City initiative has already seen Australia’s Deakin and Wollongong University make inroads.

But policy alone isn’t enough. Large-scale transformation demands the joint effort of government, private industry, philanthropists, and academia. India has no shortage of talent — our students excel in global companies, laboratories, and universities. We also have world-class industry across sectors like AI, green energy, pharmaceuticals, and digital finance. What we lack is the educational infrastructure that ties knowledge creation to economic innovation — at scale and with global visibility.

Tomorrow’s universities must be more than places of teaching — they must be hubs for solving real-world challenges, fuelling startups, and generating world-class research. In this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we need Indian institutions that are as innovative as they are inclusive.

If India truly aspires to be a Viksit Bharat by 2047, we must build globally respected universities anchored in Indian priorities — accessible, diverse, research-led, and future-ready. This is the decade to build our own Harvards and turn India into not just a source of students but a global campus in itself.

The author is a Professor of Psychology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.