To realise how aspiring we are, or at least our urban middle class is, look at the response to the Cabinet approval for a bill that, when passed by Parliament, will allow foreign universities set up campuses here and award degrees. It was greeted with a good measure of healthy skepticism and almost all criticism accuses the bill of doing too little to welcome foreign universities, rather than expressing any protectionist views. Even private universities such as Manipal University, the country's first such university, has welcomed the move.

To get to the provisions of the bill, take, for example, the stipulation that foreign universities will need to deposit Rs. 50 crore. Or that the institutions cannot repatriate profits. Both are being seen as limiting the entry of top-class universities, especially at a time when most universities worldwide have suffered huge losses on account of the two-year-long financial meltdown. This measure will limit both the quality and quantity of the universities that will come to India. And, like it or not, we need both because  160,000 Indian students go abroad for higher education each year and the number keeps growing.

There are others who question the role of government agencies such as the University Grants Commission, and how these might affect the independence and/or functioning of the foreign educational institutions. The concern is legitimate, given the record of the UGC. Still, the new measure will serve the nation in two important ways.

One, it will raise the supply of seats for higher education programs.

Two, it will eventually raise the quality of Indian educational institutions, including the quality of the teachers.

The bill is welcomed by all except the xenophobic communist parties as a progressive measure that is necessary for India to progress. Even if the UGC oversight is seen as necessary, the large deposit and the blanket ban on repatriation of profits are hugely negative for cash-strapped universities worldwide. The Bharatiya Janata Party backs the bill and one hopes it can pressure the government into further liberalising the bill so that more foreign universities will find it attractive to set up campuses here. Would that be too much to ask of our Opposition?