NEW DELHI: With the foreign educational providers Bill put on hold, University Grants Commission ( UGC) has finalized regulations through which foreign institutions would be able to come to India in collaboration, partnership or in twinning arrangement with local educational institutions.

The regulations, to be notified shortly, mandate that only those foreign institutions would be allowed who are among the top 500 institutions in the world as per Times Higher Education's world university ranking or the Academic Ranking of World Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Foreign institutions would have to ensure that courses offered by them are in conformity with the standards set by Indian regulatory bodies.

Indian partners of foreign educational institutions are mandated to have accreditation by National Assessment and Accreditation Council with an A or an equivalent grade.

However, Indian educational institutions run by Centre, state or Union Territory administration would be free from mandatory accreditation.

Indian collaborators would require at least five years experience of offering education at post-graduate level. Again, government educational institutions have been exempted.

In case an Indian educational institution is affiliated to a university it would need its approval before collaborating with foreign institutions.

Also, the new entity borne out of collaboration is barred from teaching anything against national security and territorial integrity.

Institutions would also have to abide by regulations of Indian government and in case where foreign exchange is involved they would have to follow regulations of Reserve Bank of India. UGC's approval would be for five years, but it can review the progress and then extend or withdraw approval or even impose new conditions.