India’s International Twinning, Joint & Dual Degree Programmes in a Closing World (ICC Blog #136)
- Dr Sp Mishra
- Jan 4
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 4
International degree programmes promise global exposure at a fraction of the cost—but in a world that is turning inward, how safe are these promises?
This article examines India’s twinning, joint, and dual degree programmes through the lens of regulation, employability, and geopolitics, and explains why parents and students must prioritise verification, degree recognition, and return-to-India pathways more than ever before.
As per publicly available information, around 100 international twinning, joint, and dual degree programmes are being offered by Indian higher education institutions in the 2025–26 academic session. These programmes are widely promoted as part of India’s global education push under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, promising international exposure at a significantly lower cost than studying fully abroad.
Yet, even in early 2026, a critical gap remains. There is no single authentic government website or public portal where parents and students can independently verify which of these programmes are genuinely approved under University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations.
In the absence of such a mechanism, families are expected to rely on college websites, glossy brochures, education agents, or verbal assurances. For households investing savings or taking education loans, this uncertainty is not a technical detail—it is a serious risk.
In this article we are explaining how international twinning, joint, and dual degree programmes work, where the verification gaps lie, why future employment—especially in India—must remain central to decision-making, and how parents and students can protect themselves in a changing global environment.
The Promise of International Education at a Lower Cost
By 2025–26, “internationalisation” has become one of the most powerful selling points in Indian higher education.
Engineering colleges advertise 2+2 pathways to the United States, business schools highlight UK-linked MBA programmes, and liberal arts institutions promise dual degrees—one Indian and one foreign. The pitch is compelling: global exposure, international branding, and enhanced career prospects at 40–60% of the cost of a full overseas degree. For many families, this translates to a total spend of ₹5–15 lakh instead of a far higher foreign outlay.
Consider a familiar scene.
On a warm Mumbai evening, Priya, an accountant, sits at her dining table with her laptop open. Her 17-year-old son Arjun excitedly points to a college website advertising a 2+2 engineering programme with a US university. The images are impressive—lush campuses, smiling students, international classrooms.
Priya feels hopeful. But a quiet question lingers: Is this opportunity real, or is it simply well-designed marketing?
The Verification Problem Beneath the Surface
The UGC introduced regulations in 2022, with minor refinements through 2025, allowing Indian universities to collaborate with foreign institutions. These regulations permit three broad models: twinning programmes with partial study abroad, joint degrees delivered collaboratively, and dual degree programmes that award two separate qualifications in the same discipline.
On paper, the framework is sensible. Indian institutions must meet quality benchmarks, and foreign partners are expected to have credible global standing. In theory, this should protect students.
In practice, the protection is incomplete.
While the UGC publishes a list of eligible Indian institutions, it does not maintain a public, searchable database of approved international programmes, foreign partners, or course-level clearances. There is no unique approval number for each programme, and institutions are not required to publicly disclose their MoUs.
An MoU, however, is not a guarantee. It is a statement of intent, not a binding assurance. Partnerships can dissolve due to changes in visa rules, financial priorities, geopolitical developments, or institutional policies. When this happens, students are often left dealing with lost credits, extended study periods, or additional financial burden.
In 2025 alone, complaints related to international academic collaborations crossed into the hundreds. While the regulator has taken corrective steps, the system remains largely reactive rather than preventive.
Why Returning to India Must Be Central to the Plan
There is a larger global reality that families must now factor into their decisions.
The world is becoming more inward-looking, not more open.
Across traditional education destinations—the US, UK, Canada, and parts of Europe—immigration and employment policies are tightening. Work visas are increasingly conditional, politically sensitive, and closely linked to short-term labour needs rather than long-term settlement.
As a result, a foreign-linked degree no longer guarantees overseas employment in the way many families still assume.
This fundamentally changes the risk calculation. Returning to India should not be viewed as a fallback option. It must be treated as a primary and viable career pathway.
Here, degree recognition matters deeply. Government jobs, public sector undertakings, public universities, and regulated professions in India depend on strict eligibility norms.
A programme operating in a regulatory grey area—without clear approvals or equivalence—can quietly restrict future opportunities.
The Future of Work Is More Human Than It Appears
A common assumption is that government employment is shrinking and therefore irrelevant for today’s students. This view is misleading.
While the public sector employs only about 6% of India’s workforce, its importance in the future economy remains significant. Education, healthcare, urban governance, environmental management, disaster response, and public administration all require human presence, judgment, and accountability. Technology and artificial intelligence will enhance efficiency, but they will not replace people-facing public service roles.
Future governments are likely to strengthen public institutions, combining technology with human capability rather than substituting one for the other. For students returning to India, government and quasi-government roles will continue to offer stability, structure, and social relevance.
This makes degree legitimacy far more important than international branding alone.
Employment, Policy, and Politics Are Intertwined
India’s demographic reality ensures that future governments will be judged by their ability to create meaningful employment pathways for young citizens. Public employment—modernised, technology-enabled, and service-oriented—will remain an important policy and political instrument.
Degrees that weaken eligibility for such roles can have long-term consequences that families often underestimate at the time of admission.
This is why verifying what is real, approved, and recognised is essential, not optional.
Choosing Carefully in an Uncertain World
Before enrolling in any international programme, families must move beyond excitement and ask clear, direct questions about approvals, degree-awarding authority, recognition in India, and safeguards if partnerships end prematurely. Written documentation should be treated as a necessity, not a courtesy.
When answers are vague, delayed, or overly confident without evidence, caution is the wiser choice.
Closing Thought
Twinning, joint, and dual degree programmes can be genuine opportunities when built on transparency and regulatory clarity. International exposure has real value. But in a world shaped by geopolitical uncertainty and shifting employment realities, clarity matters more than aspiration.
For parents and students, the goal is not simply to go global—but to remain employable, secure, and grounded in the long term. Ask carefully. Verify patiently. Choose wisely.
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