Reflections on changing landscape of private higher education space in Indian higher education

Higher education is now widely accepted as a foremost instrument for fostering economic growth. The Indian higher education system is the largest in the world in terms of the number of institutions and the second largest in enrollments. About 29.6 million students are currently enrolled in higher education institutions in India. There are around 712 universities and 36,671 colleges in India. This mammoth network of higher education institutions includes a large private sector that has emerged explicitly and outsized during last two decades. The overall share of the unaided private higher education institutions has reached 63.9 percent, and the share of student enrollments in these institutions has reached 58.9 percent. The authors make an attempt to present an overview of Indian higher education and within the same frame tries to delineate and identify the advent and growth of private higher education.