France targets 30,000 Indian students by 2030; announces ‘Desibel’ for local creators in India

France aims to attract 30,000 Indian students by 2030, as part of a broader partnership to enhance educational cooperation between the two nations. Campus France, the French government agency promoting higher education abroad, reports a rise in the number of Indian students in French higher education, increasing from 9,100 in the 2024-25 academic year to an estimated 12,000 in 2025.

This growth in student numbers aligns with France's efforts to position itself as a more attractive destination for Indian students, particularly in technology, innovation, and specialized fields.

The partnership was strengthened during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in June 2024, with both countries signing 19 agreements focused on innovation ecosystems, adopting the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, and establishing a Joint India-France AI Working Group. Modi further proposed inviting French universities to set up campuses in India.

To support this outreach, French institutions plan to increase their direct engagement with Indian students. Over 50 French schools are scheduled to participate in the Choose France Tour in October 2025, with events held in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, and Bengaluru. These institutions include engineering and technology schools, business schools, and public universities.

A specific initiative, Desibel, launched by the Embassy of France in India and the French Institute in India, focuses on training and international exchange within the animation, visual effects, gaming, comics, and extended-reality sectors. Desibel enables Indian artists, creators, and professionals to collaborate with French mentors, institutions, and industry networks.

Its activities encompass capacity-building, publishing, animation, and immersive content projects. The India Comics Project, a component of Desibel, involves 24 Indian artists adapting literary classics into graphic novels. The AVGC-XR portion of the program, led by the Aniverse & Visual Arts Foundation, includes events such as the AniMela Festival and the International Mifa Campus pitch lab. In June 2026, five Indian animation projects will be showcased at the Annecy Festival in France.