Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 9 : Nine leading universities from the United Kingdom have now received approvals to open campuses in India, under the National Education Policy (NEP), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Wednesday.
While adressing the special briefing on the UK PM's official visit to India, Misri stated, "there are nine leading UK universities that have now received approvals for opening their campuses in India."
"This is literally a silent revolution in the field of education that is taking place under the NEP. And you might be aware that some months ago, in July, Southampton University became the first university to actually open a physical campus in India and has already taken in its first cohort of students," he added.
Misri also outlined the scale of the delegation accompanying Starmer on his first official visit to India. "Prime Minister Starmer is accompanied by a very high-powered delegation. He has with him the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle; the Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander; Minister for Investment, Jason Stockwood; and an unprecedented 125-strong business delegation."
"This is the largest ever business delegation from the United Kingdom that is visiting India. In addition, this delegation comprises nine vice chancellors of major UK universities, all of which have plans for India and are in fact already executing their plans for India," he added.
These are nine universities: Southampton University in Gurgaon, Queen's Belfast University in GIFT City, Coventry University in GIFT City, the University of Surrey in GIFT City and the University of Bristol in GIFT City. The University of York in Mumbai, the University of Liverpool in Bengaluru, the University of Lancaster in Bengaluru, and the University of Aberdeen in Mumbai received approvals to open campuses in India.
Meawhile, the UK government released a statement, saying "UK's world-leading higher education sector is set to bring in a £50 million boost to the economy as part of a major expansion of British universities in India."
Currently, there are 40 million students at universities in India, but 70 million places are needed by 2035. The UK's world-renowned higher education sector is capitalising on that demand by giving thousands of Indian students the chance to study for a UK degree without leaving home - while bolstering our economy by millions of pounds.
International education brought over £32 billion of export revenue to the UK in 2022, with nearly £1 billion of that coming from international campuses - showcasing its power as a growth market, the statement added.
Further, the UK government noted that the UK is set to become the country with the biggest higher education footprint in India, in a major boost for the UK's reputation abroad.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated the milestone in a meeting with UK Vice Chancellors in Mumbai on Thursday.
Starmer is on a two-day trade mission to strengthen ties with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and put money back into the pockets of hard-working British people.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Our great British universities are admired all over the world for their teaching excellence, high-quality research and commitment to innovation.
"I'm delighted that more Indian students will be able to benefit from a world-class British education in the near future - strengthening the ties between our two countries while pumping millions back into our economy and supporting jobs at home."
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