4 Foreign Universities Get UGC Nod to Set Up Campuses in India; LOIs Handed Over at ABSS 2025

Universities from Australia and UK receive UGC approval to establish campuses in Greater Noida, Noida, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

The University Grants Commission has issued Letters of Intent (LOIs) to four foreign universities for establishing their campuses in India. The LOIs were formally handed over by UGC Chairman Dr. Vineet Joshi in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam 2025 at Bharat Mandapam.

The four foreign universities that received the LOIs are:

University of Western Sydney, Australia – Greater Noida

Victoria University, Australia – Noida

La Trobe University, Australia – Bengaluru

University of Bristol, United Kingdom – Mumbai

Announcement is being seen as a landmark development under National Education Policy, which envisioned allowing top foreign institutions to operate in India to enhance academic standards, encourage student mobility, and foster global collaboration.

UGC Chairperson Dr. Vineet Joshi added that the commission has been working proactively to operationalise the framework for foreign higher education institutions (FHEIs) under the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023.

Four universities granted LOIs will now begin the process of meeting UGC regulatory requirements and setting up physical infrastructure. Each institution has already submitted detailed proposals including campus plans, academic and governance structures. These institutions are expected to begin operations by the 2026–27 academic session, subject to final UGC approvals.