India and the United States of America (USA) have committed to boosting relationships between their higher education institutions, facilitating study abroad, and investigating prospects to establish campuses of renowned American colleges in India.
During their extensive talks at the White House on Thursday, February 13, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump acknowledged that the talent flow and movement of students, researchers, and employees had benefited both countries, The Hindu reports.
"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi noted the importance of advancing the people-to-people ties between the two countries. In this context, they noted that the more than 300,000-strong Indian student community contributes over USD 8 billion annually to the US economy and helped create a number of direct and indirect jobs," a joint statement from the agreement said.
"Recognising the importance of international academic collaborations in fostering innovation, improving learning outcomes and development of a future-ready workforce, both leaders resolved to strengthen collaborations between the higher education institutions through efforts such as joint and dual degree and twinning programmes," it added.
Further, both leaders agreed that they would work towards establishing joint Centres of Excellence and setting up offshore campuses of premier US educational institutions in India.
According to the most recent Open Doors Report, the number of Indian students studying in the United States in the academic year 2023-24 is 3,31,602, a 23 per cent increase from the previous year's figure of 2,68,923.
“The Indian community in America is an important link in our relationship. To deepen our people-to-people ties, we will soon open new Indian consulates in Los Angeles and Boston," Modi said in the joint press conference.
He also said, "We have invited American universities and educational institutions to open offshore campuses in India."
International student enrollment in the United States in 2023 showed a substantial increase from the calendar year 2022.