Education Minister Pralhad Joshi meets French counterpart, proposes IIT campus

Indian Education Minister Prahlad Joshi with his french counterpart, Philippe Baptiste (Photo: X/@JoshiPralhad)

Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday met the Education Minister of France, Philippe Baptiste, during his three-day visit to India from September 28 to September 30. Both the ministers discussed expanding student and faculty mobility, as well as new avenues for further strengthening India-France relations in education, research and innovation.

Pralhad Joshi also discussed the proposal of establishing an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in Nice, Italy, and building on the momentum of #BharatInnovates2026.

The Education Minister took to X to share, “Engaged with H.E. Mr @PhBaptiste, Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space of France, to further strengthen the India-France partnership in education, research and innovation.”

According to Ministry of Education (MoE) officials, both sides stressed the potential engagements in the field of higher education during the meeting, including fortifying institutional linkages, mobility of students, faculty and researchers, and expanding opportunities for collaborative academic programmes and exchanges.

Engaged with H.E. Mr. @PhBaptiste, Minister for Higher Education, Research and Space of France, to further strengthen the India-France partnership in education, research and innovation.

Discussed expanding student and faculty mobility, strengthening institutional partnerships… pic.twitter.com/UDxU3FzjJ0

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) September 28, 2026

In his post, Joshi mentioned, “Discussed expanding student and faculty mobility, strengthening institutional partnerships and joint research, advancing the revised Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Agreement, and taking forward collaborations through SPARC, GIAN and the Franco-Indian Campus in Life Sciences & Health.

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An official stated that both countries also discussed greater cooperation in fields like life sciences, social sciences and humanities, with focus on institutional interaction, collaborative academic activities and research. “French higher educational institutions were invited to explore opening branch campuses in India including in GIFT City, Gujarat and also at places where French companies are located and require technical human resources,” he added.

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The discussions also included the ongoing revision of the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications (MRQ) agreement between India and France, sharing experiences and best practices in digital education and amplifying technology to broaden access to quality learning.