Gandhinagar: At least two Australian universities, both ranked within the top 300 universities globally, are in talks with the central government and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to establish independent offshore campuses in India. The universities are looking to set up “international branch campuses” in GIFT City, Gujarat, to offer courses in financial management, FinTech, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

As per the reports, the IFSCA has recently invited applications from foreign universities and is in talks with an expert committee of educationists to assess the proposals. The Australian Prime Minister is expected to make a formal announcement about one of the universities during his visit to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar early next month. The move follows the Indian government’s decision to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in GIFT City, free from domestic regulations. The courses offered at the offshore campuses will have to be identical to those offered by the parent institutions, and the degrees, diplomas, or certificates will have the same recognition and status as those awarded by the parent entity.

The regulations also allow foreign institutes to repatriate profits from campuses they set up in GIFT City. DeshGujarat