Maharashtra to grant LOIs to 5 foreign universities for MMR campuses

Under its 'Mumbai Rising' initiative, the Maharashtra government will grant LOIs to five global universities to establish campuses in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai

The government of Maharashtra will formally grant Letters of Intent (LOIs) to five universities to set up campuses in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

 

The five universities are Aberdeen University, the University of York, the University of Western Australia, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Istituto Europeo di Design (IED). 

 

The move is aimed at creating an international education city at Navi Mumbai, and the LOIs will be granted under the Maharashtra government’s initiative of ‘Mumbai Rising – Creating an International Education City’, on Saturday.

 

The International EduCity is being developed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) of Maharashtra. As part of the project, a total of 10 top foreign university campuses are planned within a five-kilometre radius of Navi Mumbai International Airport.

 

“This will be the first-of-its-kind International EduCity in the country. This project will position Navi Mumbai and Mumbai as a global education hub, and it will be one of the biggest drivers to achieve a trillion-dollar economy for Maharashtra and a five-trillion-dollar economy for India by 2029,” Cidco noted.

 

According to the university rankings report for 2024 by the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR), a consulting organisation, the University of Western Australia ranked 143rd, placing it among the top 0.7 per cent of universities in the world.

 

Aberdeen University ranked 310th, while the University of York ranked 333rd, both among the world’s top 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the Illinois Institute of Technology ranked 585th, placing it in the top 2.8 per cent globally.

 

“This initiative aims to make international standard education accessible within India by establishing foreign university campuses in the state,” Cidco added.

 

In addition, Cidco is also working on the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (Naina) as the special planning authority for the project. Naina will host hubs for trade, technology, and other industries, with ₹14,000 crore allocated for infrastructure development in the region.