PM Modi announces IIM Bangalore campus in Indonesia amid push to deepen ties Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore will establish a campus in Indonesia, marking the premier management institute’s first international campus and a fresh push to expand India’s higher education footprint overseas.
“We are going to establish a campus of India’s prestigious management institute, IIM Bangalore, in Indonesia, which will greatly benefit the youth across the entire ASEAN region,” PM Modi said during a joint press statement with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.
The proposed campus will be set up at the Singhasari Special Economic Zone in Malang, Indonesia. It is expected to serve learners from Indonesia as well as neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, while helping deepen academic exchange, executive education and leadership training between the two countries.
Why Modi is in Indonesia
PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Indonesia from July 6 to 8 at the invitation of President Prabowo Subianto. This is his fourth visit to the country.
During the visit, PM Modi held bilateral discussions with Prabowo in Jakarta to review the progress in the partnership and expand cooperation across defence, technology, education, culture, maritime security, digital public infrastructure and critical minerals.
The visit also comes months after Prabowo travelled to India as the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2025.
Part of wider India-Indonesia push
In his remarks after the talks, PM Modi said India and Indonesia were entering a “golden chapter” in their partnership.
He said the two countries had signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation among young people in areas such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications and Digital Public Infrastructure, while also agreeing to deepen collaboration between their startup ecosystems.
The IIM Bangalore campus was among the key announcements made during the visit. India and Indonesia also announced cooperation in several other areas, including research and innovation, agriculture, medical product regulation, critical minerals, space, maritime safety and cultural exchanges.
Campus to open in two phases
IIM Bangalore’s proposed programmes in Indonesia will be rolled out in two phases. In the first phase, the institute will offer short-duration executive education programmes for senior executives, business leaders and public sector professionals.
Subject to the successful implementation of the first phase over the initial two years, the second phase will introduce degree-granting management programmes.
The programme will be implemented through an MoU between IIM Bangalore and PT Intelegensia Grahatama, the managing and development entity of Singhasari SEZ.
What the campus will offer
The proposed IIMB campus will focus on core management education along with emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation, global supply chains, climate and sustainability, and healthcare management.
Participants in Indonesia are also expected to get opportunities for short academic immersion visits to IIMB’s Bengaluru campus, allowing exposure to India’s innovation ecosystem, industry and business environment.
According to IIMB, the initiative is also expected to strengthen research collaborations, faculty development, consulting engagements, policy partnerships, student exchanges and industry engagement across Indonesia and the wider ASEAN region.
India’s education diplomacy
The move adds to India’s recent efforts to take its top institutions abroad. The government has cited overseas campuses of IIM Ahmedabad in Dubai, IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi and IIT Madras in Zanzibar as part of India’s growing global higher education presence.
The Ministry of Education said the proposed Indonesia campus advances the vision of the National Education Policy 2020, which encourages premier Indian institutions to establish an international presence and expand access to world-class education.
Prof U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge of IIM Bangalore, said the partnership would help create a leadership pool for companies in Indonesia as well as global corporations.
At the MoU signing event, Prof Jitamitra Desai, Professor and Member, Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore, said the institute was well positioned to deliver “high-quality, high-reputation management programmes” and help make Indonesia a global hub in business education.