Why in news?  The University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced draft norms for facilitating foreign universities and educational institutions to set up campuses in India

Highlights

• It allow foreign university autonomy in determining fees, as well as a with 90-day approval process
• The new National Education Policy [NEP] 2020 has envisioned that top universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India.
• Legislative framework facilitating such as universities to be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India

How is the functioning of college?

• Can evolve their own admission process and criteria to admit domestic and foreign students
• It will also have autonomy to decide its fee structure, and will face no caps that are imposed on Indian institutions.
• Fee should be “reasonable and transparent”.
• Have autonomy to recruit faculty and staff from India and abroad.
• The courses to be offered cannot be in online and open and distance learning mode.
• Qualifications awarded to the students on the Indian campus should have equivalence with those awarded by the institutions in their country of origin.
• Foreign higher education institutions will also be allowed cross-border movement of funds and maintenance of foreign currency accounts
• The mode of payments, remittance, repatriation, and sale of proceeds, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 and its Rules and an audit report will have to be submitted to the UGC.

Who can step up the university ?

• A foreign university with a rank among the top 500 global rankings or a foreign educational institution of repute in home jurisdiction can apply to the UGC to set up a campus in India.

What is the process of the system ?

• Application will be considered by a standing committee appointed by the UGC to submit its recommendations within 45 days
• This process is done after examining the institution’s credibility, programmes with their potential to strengthen educational opportunities in India, proposed academic infrastructure.
• Within 45 days, the UGC may grant in-principle approval to the foreign institution to set up campuses in India within two years.
• The initial approval will be for 10 years, can be extended