Government Schemes and Policies on Student Mobility and Overseas Internships

Student mobility and international internship programs form a key pillar of India’s higher education internationalization strategy under the National Education Policy 2020. The central government implements multiple initiatives to facilitate cross-border academic exchanges, global research collaborations, and structured overseas training for Indian students and faculty. These schemes operate across various ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of External Affairs, and Department of Science and Technology, providing financial support, credit transfer mechanisms, and bilateral institutional partnerships.

National Education Policy 2020 and Internationalization Frameworks

UGC Regulations on Joint, Dual, and Twinning Degrees

• Enables Indian Higher Education Institutions to collaborate with foreign institutions ranked among the top 500 in Times Higher Education or QS World University Rankings.
• Allows twinning programs where students complete up to 30% of total course credits at foreign institutions without receiving a dual degree.
• Permits joint degree and dual degree programs where students complete at least 30% of credits at the host foreign institution, receiving degrees issued jointly or concurrently.

UGC Regulations for Foreign Universities in India

• Allows top 500 ranked global universities to set up offshore campuses in India.
• Provides operational autonomy regarding admissions, fee structures, and curriculum design.
• Facilitates inward student mobility while lowering international education costs for domestic students.

Major Schemes Promoting International Academic Mobility

Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC)

• Executed by the Ministry of Education with IIT Kharagpur acting as the national coordinating institute.
• Facilitates joint research projects involving top Indian institutions and top 500 foreign universities from selected countries.
• Funds short-term and long-term mobility for Indian research scholars and faculty visiting partner international laboratories.

Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)

• Focuses on inviting international scientists, scholars, and entrepreneurs to teach short courses in Indian higher education institutions.
• Covers travel and honorarium expenses for visiting foreign experts.
• Provides local Indian students direct access to international expertise without travelling abroad.

Study in India (SII) Program

• Operates as a single-window portal under the Ministry of Education to attract international students to Indian higher education institutions.
• Offers fee waivers and financial assistance through the Study in India Scholarship scheme.
• Streamlines student visa processing, credit equivalency recognition, and administrative approvals.

Overseas Research Fellowships and Science Mobility Schemes

VAJRA Faculty Scheme

• Administered by the Science and Engineering Research Board under the Department of Science and Technology.
• Enables Overseas Citizens of India and foreign faculty to serve as adjunct professors in Indian public-funded institutions.
• Requires visiting faculty to reside in India for 1 to 3 months annually to co-supervise doctoral candidates and lead research projects.

Overseas Doctoral and Postdoctoral Mobility Programs

• SERB Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship: Supports Indian PhD scholars to conduct research in top international universities for up to 12 months.
• Raman-Charpak Fellowship: Joint initiative between India and France providing PhD and Postdoctoral mobility support for up to 6 months.
• ICSSR Overseas Mobility Grants: Provides financial support to social science researchers for data collection, archival research, and post-doctoral work abroad.

Policies and Portals for International Internships

MEA Internship Policy

• Managed by the Ministry of External Affairs for Indian graduates and final-year undergraduate students.
• Offers a monthly honorarium along with economy airfare reimbursement for selected candidates.
• Allocates specific quotas for candidates from Aspirational Districts and socio-economically weaker sections.
• Provides orientation across ministry divisions and includes optional exposure visits to Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

AICTE International Internship Guidelines

• Mandates internship credits as a core component of undergraduate engineering and technical degree programs.
• Encourages technical institutions to execute Memorandum of Understanding arrangements with foreign companies and universities.
• Integrates international training outcomes into the National Credit Framework for credit transfer.

Key Policy Comparison Matrix

Essential Facts and Key Trivia

• IIT Kharagpur functions as the National Coordinating Institution for the SPARC scheme.
• The National Education Policy 2020 targets raising India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50 percent by 2035.
• Foreign higher educational institutions establishing campuses in India under UGC rules must rank in the top 500 globally in overall or subject rankings.
• Under the UGC Twinning program, students must earn at least 30 percent of total course credits at the partner foreign institution.
• The Ministry of External Affairs internship policy maintains a quota-cum-weightage system giving representation to candidates from Aspirational Districts.
• The SERB Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship provides monthly stipends and travel allowances to Indian research scholars for up to one year.
• The National Credit Framework allows academic credits earned in approved foreign institutions to be transferred and stored digitally.
• India and France jointly manage the Raman-Charpak Fellowship through the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research.