Foreign universities could unlock $113 billion in savings for India by 2040, according to Deloitte India and Knight Frank India’s latest analysis. The key? Creating space—literally 1.9 crore square feet of vertical campuses—for international institutions to thrive domestically, slashing the costs of outbound student mobility.
NEP 2020 sets the stage for this evolution, transforming India into a knowledge epicenter. Today’s 5.3 crore higher education enrollees could swell to 7.2 crore by 2035 to meet 50% GER ambitions. But elite seats are scarce: 54,000 JEE 2025 qualifiers against 18,000 IIT openings highlight the crisis.
Progress is underway, with 18 global universities greenlit or operational. Knight Frank’s Shishir Baijal hails this as a sector pivot, urging focus on cutting-edge domains like STEM, AI, data science, and management.
Top-tier cities Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai lead due to business synergies; Tier-2 gems Chandigarh, Kochi, and Jaipur follow with solid infrastructure. Essential ingredients include faculty excellence pipelines and governance blending Indian compliance with academic liberty.
This isn’t mere economics—it’s a gateway to fulfilling student potentials, driving R&D, and elevating India’s global standing. By 2040, these campuses could redefine opportunity, keeping talent and treasure home.