New Delhi

Several nations, including Bhutan and Morocco, have shown interest in hosting overseas campuses of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), though the Indian government has not taken a final call on the proposals yet, official sources said.

According to sources in the Ministry of Education, both formal and informal requests have been received from a few countries seeking to establish IIT campuses on their soil. Bhutan and Morocco are among those that have approached India, but discussions remain at a preliminary stage.

The expansion of Indian higher education beyond national borders is a key objective of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The policy framework promotes global engagement by allowing leading Indian institutions to set up campuses abroad, while also opening doors for top foreign universities to operate in India.

At present, two international IIT campuses are functional. IIT Madras launched its overseas campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in November 2023, marking the first such initiative. This was followed by IIT Delhi’s campus in Abu Dhabi, which was inaugurated in September 2024 and is currently operating from a temporary location at Zayed University. Work is underway to develop a permanent campus facility there.

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India is also exploring opportunities to expand its premier technical education footprint into other regions. In October this year, an agreement was finalised to establish an IIT campus in Suleja, West Africa. The institution is expected to admit its first batch of undergraduate and postgraduate students in 2026.

Officials indicated that while interest from multiple countries reflects the growing global recognition of India’s technical education system, decisions on new overseas campuses will be taken after detailed evaluations and consultations.