An Official Government of Maharashtra Initiative
Recruit Maharashtra's students through the state itself.
A direct, government-backed channel to the 100,000+ students who leave Maharashtra for overseas study every year — verified, transparent, and on one fixed annual fee.
Open to QS Top 1000 institutions. Share your details and the full partnership brochure is emailed to you.
Why Maharashtra
India's most valuable international student market
Maharashtra is India's leading source state for international education, with over 100,000 students pursuing overseas education every year and a higher education ecosystem serving 4.5 million students across 36 districts. Mumbai holds Asia's largest concentration of aspirational families. Pune is India's premier education hub. Nagpur is the fastest-growing Central India market — and the state has deep, organised presence across Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities that international universities rarely reach.
Mumbai
Asia's largest concentration of aspirational families
Pune
India's premier education hub
Nagpur
Fast-growing Central India market
Tier 2–4
2.4M+ students largely underserved
Where they go — Indian students enrolled
Indicative estimates compiled from public sources and the portal's own country guides. Not official enrolment statistics; not a commitment of student volume.
Most-chosen fields
The Maha Study Abroad Solution
A government-backed recruitment platform
Built under the Department of Higher & Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra. Four things the state can offer an international office that no private channel can.
Government credibility
A state-backed platform with official oversight — not a private intermediary.
Fixed annual fee
One predictable cost. No per-student commissions, no success fees, no paid placement.
5-layer verification
Every partner institution passes a 100-point evaluation before it is listed.
Enrolment assurance
If fewer than two confirmed enrolments occur in Year 1, Year 2 participation is free.
How it fits
An additional, official channel — alongside what you already run
This platform is not a replacement for your representatives, agencies, fairs or in-country teams. It sits beside them as a direct, state-operated route into Maharashtra — useful for the districts and student segments that are hardest to reach any other way, and for families who want to see a government name behind the process.
What the state channel adds
- Reach into Tier 2–4 districts where in-country teams and fairs rarely travel
- Government credibility with parents, who make most of the decision in India
- Document-complete applications arriving through one structured pipeline
- Visibility from enquiry to enrolment, in one dashboard
- A predictable line item — one fixed annual fee to budget for
Works alongside
Every one of these has a role, and many institutions run all of them at once. Maharashtra simply gives students and their families the option of applying through their own state — and gives your office one more verified, transparent way in.
No exclusivity is asked for, and none is offered.
Cost model
One fixed annual fee. Nothing per student.
A single, published cost that your office can budget for at the start of the cycle — whatever the intake turns out to be.
| Platform participation | ~$20,000 / year |
| Per-student commission | $0 |
| Success or placement fee | $0 |
| Paid ranking or featured placement | Not offered |
| Year 2 if fewer than two enrolments in Year 1 | Free |
Included in the annual fee
- Programme listing & dashboard
- All six recruitment channels
- Structured application pipeline
- Parent seminars & webinars
- Enrolment-stage tracking
- A named contact at the international desk
Model your return
Adjust for your own intake and fee level.
Illustrative only, based on the indicative $20,000 platform fee and figures you enter. Not a quotation, not a projection of enrolments, and not financial advice.
One student, compounding value
Verification framework
5-layer sovereign-grade verification
Every institution is evaluated through a 100-point framework before it can receive applications. This is what makes the register worth being on — and what protects students.
Academic rankings & accreditation
Global and national ranking assessment · accreditation from recognised bodies
Embassy & government recognition
Recognition by Indian Embassy or Consulate · compliance with host country regulations
Financial stability
Financial health and sustainability · transparent financial reporting
Alumni outcomes
Graduate success and career progression · alumni satisfaction and engagement
Graduate employability
Employment rates and salary benchmarks · industry partnerships and career support
Only verified institutions gain access to the platform.
Approved
Meets all criteria. Full platform access.
Conditional
Meets most criteria. Additional requirements to fulfil.
Rejected
Does not meet minimum criteria.
Reach across Maharashtra
One platform. Six recruitment channels.
Your programmes reach students where they already are — on the platform, in their WhatsApp groups, in their parents' seminars, and in their colleges.
Digital platform
A dedicated dashboard to showcase your programmes to verified students.
WhatsApp student network
Direct engagement with students through a trusted, moderated ecosystem.
Parent awareness seminars
Statewide seminars and webinars — in India, parents decide.
Government channels
Promotion through the Government of Maharashtra's official outreach networks.
College partnerships
Collaboration with 500+ higher education institutions across the state.
Counselling centres
Integration with leading counselling centres across Maharashtra.
Untapped opportunity. More than 2.4 million students in Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities remain largely underserved by international universities. A significant first-mover advantage for participating institutions.
Beyond student recruitment
Build today. Transform tomorrow.
Dual degree programmes
2+2 and 3+1 pathways for global academic excellence.
Academic partnerships
Faculty exchange, collaborative research and knowledge sharing.
Credit transfer programmes
Seamless credit recognition and transfer pathways.
Joint research initiatives
Drive innovation through collaborative global research.
Implementation timeline
Application submission
Institution profile, accreditation and programme scope.
Verification review
The 100-point, five-layer evaluation.
Approval & onboarding
Data-handling undertaking signed; register entry created.
Profile setup
Programmes, indicative fees and intake terms published.
Go live to the student network
Visible across all six recruitment channels.
For international offices
Questions we are usually asked
How does this sit with our existing country representatives and partners?
Alongside them, not instead of them. Your representatives, agencies, fairs, alumni networks and direct applications all keep working exactly as they do today — no exclusivity is asked for and none is offered. What the state platform adds is a state-operated route into districts and student segments that are difficult to reach any other way, with government credibility for parents and one structured pipeline for the applications that come through it. Most international offices simply add it as one more channel for the Maharashtra cycle and review it on its own merits at the end of the year.
What does participation cost?
A fixed annual platform fee, indicatively around USD 20,000, with no per-student commission, no success fee and no paid placement. If fewer than two confirmed enrolments occur in Year 1, Year 2 participation is free. The current fee schedule is confirmed in writing during verification and is included in the partnership brochure.
Are we guaranteed a number of students?
No. Nothing on this page is a commitment of student volume, and the state does not sell leads or guarantee enrolments. What is committed is access, verification, transparency of the pipeline, and the Year 2 provision described above.
Does listing mean the Government of Maharashtra endorses us?
No. Verification confirms identity, accreditation and a signed data-handling undertaking. It is not an endorsement, ranking or recommendation. All verified institutions appear on equal terms in the course search — there is no paid placement and no ranking by the state.
Who is eligible to apply?
Institutions ranked within the QS World University Rankings Top 1000, or holding equivalent recognition from a national accreditation body, and recognised by the relevant Indian Embassy or Consulate. Rankings are third-party data produced by independent agencies; the state does not compile or verify them.
How is student data handled?
Applications, offers, interviews and enrolment confirmations are handled inside the portal. Partner institutions sign a data-handling undertaking as part of verification, and student data is never sold or shared with third parties outside the application a student has chosen to submit.
How long does onboarding take?
Approximately five weeks from application to going live across all six recruitment channels — application, verification review, approval and onboarding, profile setup, then launch to the student network.
University partnership enquiry
Together, let's turn brain drain into brain gain.
Share your institution's details and we will email you the full partnership brochure — the mobility dataset, the verification checklist, the fee schedule and the onboarding timeline — along with the next available onboarding window.
- Full partnership brochure emailed on submission
- Verification checklist and current fee schedule
- A named contact at the international desk
Government of Maharashtra, 8th Floor, New Excelsior Building,
A.K. Nayak Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400001, India
student@mahacet.org · +91 9152253275 / +91 9152253276
Important notice & disclaimer of liability — Figures on this page are indicative ranges, not quotations, and no figure is a commitment of student volume. Rankings and institutional financial-health indicators are produced by independent private international agencies (e.g. QS); the Government of Maharashtra does not compile, audit, verify or endorse them and accepts no liability for errors, methodology changes or revisions. Verification is not an endorsement, ranking or recommendation of any institution. Visa and post-study-work rules change without notice. The cost model shown is illustrative and is not financial advice.