India has one of the most advanced infrastructures for higher education. Indian degrees are treated with respect all over the world and professionals who have undertaken higher studies in India have made significant contribution to advanced and applied research in different disciplines all over the world. A number of Indian Institutes for higher studies have come to symbolize academic excellence over these years.

There are 278 university-level educational institutions and 10,600 colleges in India with 7,078,000 students and over 331,000 faculties. Under the Constitution of India, the Central Government i.e the Government of India has exclusive legislative powers to coordinate and determine standards on higher education. This is mainly done through the University Grants Commission. Indian universities are of various kinds: teaching or affiliating, or teaching cum affiliating, single or multi-campus. Most Indian universities are affiliating universities, which prescribe to the affiliated colleges the course of study, hold examinations and award degrees.

There are three principal qualifying degrees within the Indian higher education system, the Bachelors, Masters and the Doctoral levels. Course duration is normally three, two and three or more years, respectively. Shorter duration diploma courses are also available at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Bachelors degrees in professional fields such as agriculture, dentistry, engineering, pharmacy and veterinary medicine are generally awarded after four to five years of study. Degrees in architecture require five years while degrees in medicine are awarded after five and a half years of study. Certain bachelors degree programmes such as in education, journalism and library science are taken as second degrees. A bachelor's degree in law can be read for either as an integrated five year programme or as a three year second degree course. The pre doctoral Master of Philosophy(M.Phil) degree, read for after completion of a Masters Degree.

In 2002, over 30,000 international students including 1000 Sri Lankan were enrolled in Indian universities, most of them paying their own way through. Quality education at relatively low cost, the variety of course and the close cultural ties between two countries are among the factors that make studying in India attractive.