Mahatma Gandhi Institute

What Mahatma Gandhi Institute does

Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) is a statutory educational and cultural institution established by an Act of Parliament on 23 December 1970 as a joint initiative of the Governments of India and Mauritius, inaugurated in 1976. It operates as the apex cultural-educational platform in Mauritius for Indian heritage, offering secondary education through six secondary schools and a Gandhian Basic School, and tertiary education across five schools: School of Performing Arts, School of Indian Studies, School of Fine Arts, School of Indological Studies, and School of Mauritian and Area Studies. Approximately 1,869 students are enrolled across tertiary programs, supported by technology including the iLearn MGI Moodle-based learning management system, the Panini Language Lab, the Mediatheque audiovisual collection, and an in-house publishing and printing facility.

The institute's distinctive infrastructure includes the UNESCO Memory of the World-listed Indian Immigration Archives — nearly 2,055 registers documenting 454,000 Indian indentured immigrants from 1842-1910 — and the Folk Museum of Indian Immigration, which generate demand from research scholars, descendants seeking Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card documentation, and heritage seekers. MGI generates revenue through tuition and course fees, publications sales (Rs 50-400), facility rental of its 800-seat auditorium and 200-seat lecture theatre to government and parastatal bodies, OCI card processing services in coordination with the High Commission of India, and ancillary library services, with the majority of operating funding supplied by the Governments of India and Mauritius. The affiliated Rabindranath Tagore Institute operates under the same Council and Director-General, and the institute maintains strategic partnerships with ICCR, Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), the World Hindi Secretariat, the Franco-Mauritian Hubert Curien Partnership, and the Erasmus Mundus EU-Africa Dialogues consortium.

Name

Mahatma Gandhi Institute

Legal name

Mahatma Gandhi Institute

Website

https://mgirti.ac.mu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Mahatma Gandhi Institute is a Mauritius-based statutory educational institution, jointly run by the Governments of India and Mauritius, offering secondary and tertiary programs in Indian culture, languages, performing arts, and heritage preservation across five tertiary schools, serving approximately 1,869 students and operating a UNESCO-listed immigration archives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural and Educational Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Administration of Education Programs (923110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Local/Municipal Education Offices & Inspectorates (EDADAAAC)

Keywords

• Indian cultural education
• Asian language studies
• Performing arts education
• Heritage archives services
• Tertiary education Mauritius

Headquarters

HQ city

Moka

HQ country

Mauritius

HQ region

Africa

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Course Fees: Revenue from undergraduate, postgraduate, certificate, diploma, and short course programs at both secondary and tertiary levels
2. Publications Sales: Sale of MGI publications including books, journals, and educational materials ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 400
3. Facility Rental: Rental of auditorium (800-seat capacity) and lecture theatre (200-seat capacity) to government bodies, para-statal organisations, and socio-cultural organisations for conferences and events
4. OCI Card Processing Services: Issuing certified copies of information on Indian immigrants to descendants for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card applications through the High Commission of India
5. Library Services: Photocopying and printing services at nominal cost; fees for A4 single side Rs 1.00, A4 recto verso Rs 2.00 per sheet, A3 single side Rs 2.00, A3 recto verso Rs 4.00 per sheet

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) is a government-backed educational and cultural institution in Mauritius that offers tertiary and secondary education in Indian culture, languages, performing arts, fine arts, indological studies, and Mauritian studies. It also houses the UNESCO-listed Indian Immigration Archives, provides library and museum facilities, rents out auditorium and lecture theatre spaces, and sells MGI Publications.

Product overview

Mahatma Gandhi Institute is an educational institution established in 1970 as a joint initiative of the Governments of India and Mauritius. The institute operates as a multi-school platform offering tertiary education across five schools: School of Performing Arts (Indian classical music and dance), School of Indian Studies (Asian languages), School of Fine Arts (visual arts and digital arts), School of Indological Studies (philosophy and Sanskrit), and School of Mauritian and Area Studies. Additionally, it manages secondary schools and the affiliated Rabindranath Tagore Institute. The institute also provides heritage services including the UNESCO-listed Indian Immigration Archives, Folk Museum, specialized library, Language Resource Centre, and auditorium facilities. A Centre for Technology Enabled Learning supports online education via the iLearn MGI platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI): A separate institute operating under the same Council and Director-General as MGI, focusing on Theatre, Media Arts, Folk Arts, Craft, and Diaspora Studies. Located at Ilot in the northern part of Mauritius.
• School of Mauritian and Area Studies (SMAS)

Products and services

• Postgraduate Programmes Tertiary-level postgraduate degree programmes (Masters) offered across the five MGI Schools — Indian Studies, Performing Arts, Fine Arts, Indological Studies, and Mauritian & Area Studies — for students who have completed undergraduate study.
• Undergraduate Programmes Bachelor's degree programmes offered across the five constituent MGI Schools in subjects such as Indian studies, performing arts, fine arts, indological studies, and Mauritian studies.
• Certificate and Short Courses Short-duration certificate courses offered by MGI, including Hindi language courses (one year, six months, three months) and other certificate programmes, designed for learners seeking flexible, shorter-term study options.
• Secondary School Education Secondary schooling delivered through the institute's constituent schools — Mahatma Gandhi Institute Secondary School (MGISS Moka), Mahatma Gandhi Secondary School (MGSS Moka), Mahatma Gandhi Secondary School (Chemin Grenier), Rabindranath Tagore Secondary School (RTSS), and Gandhi Basic School (GBS) — for boys and girls up to secondary level.
• Auditorium and Lecture Theatre Rental Hiring of the institute's auditorium and lecture theatres to government bodies, parastatals, NGOs, private institutions, and individuals for conferences, seminars, workshops, films, and cultural events.
• Indian Immigration Archives Services Processing of applications such as OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cards using the UNESCO-listed Indian Immigration Archives, and research support for scholars, researchers, and descendants of Indian immigrants tracing family history.
• Library Photocopying and Printing Services Pay-as-you-go photocopying and printing services for users of the MGI Library, available across reference and lending sections to support academic and research use.
• MGI Publications Books and literary works published by MGI sold to the public, including editions of the Saraswati Epics (Bal Kand and Lanka Kand), Kalidasa's Meghadutam, and other works on Indian heritage, language, and culture.

Quantifiable outcome

• UNESCO Memory of the World Register inscription for Indian Immigration Archives in 2015
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Erasmus Mundus Design Measures (EMDM) Consortium - EU-Africa DialoguesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 June 2025EU-Africa Dialogues consortium funded under Erasmus+ Programme. MGI hosted consortium meeting June 2025 with partners: Sofia University 'St. Kliment Ohridski', University of Glasgow, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD), and University of Mauritius. Jointly developing academic and mobility structure for future EMJM in African Studies.
• Partenariat Hubert Curien Le Reduit (PHC Le Reduit)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Franco-Mauritian Hubert Curien Partnership jointly implemented by Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Higher Education and Research (France), and Ministry of Education, Mauritius. Annual call for applications promoting research collaboration between France and Mauritius.
• Doctor FamilyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 July 2017MOU signed on 28th July 2017 between Doctor family and MGI for handing over personal belongings of Manilal Doctor to Folk Museum of Indian Immigration to mark 110th anniversary of his arrival in Mauritius.
• Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore, IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2005MOU signed on 28th April 2005 between Mahatma Gandhi Institute and Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore, India for establishment of Language Resource Centre. The LRC aims to become a nodal centre for advancement of Indian languages in the African continent through teaching and research. MOU renewed in 2017 for activities and projects 2017-2021.
• Government of India and Government of MauritiuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1978Joint initiative of Governments of India and Mauritius established by Act of Parliament in 1970. Cultural agreement transferred Indian Immigration records from National Archives Department to MGI in 1978.
• Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICCR Chair of Sanskrit & Indian Philosophy established under MoU with Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The School of Indological Studies benefits from expertise of distinguished professors including Prof Piyali Palit, Prof Ramesh Bharadwaj, Prof Devendranath Tiwari, and Prof Abha Singh.
• World Hindi SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with World Hindi Secretariat for organizing seminars and workshops including Sankoré - Hindi Teaching and ICT for Primary Hindi Educators, and International Regional Hindi Conference 2014.
• British Council MauritiusminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Natural Fibre exhibition executed by MGI School of Fine Arts students as part of internship with British Council Mauritius for UK Alumni Awards Event Launch.
• National Library of MauritiuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMGI Library maintains cooperative relations with National Library of Mauritius and is a member of National Union Catalogue of Mauritiana, a unified catalogue of Mauritiana materials held by twelve major libraries in Mauritius.
• High Commission of India in MauritiuscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMGI provides attested and certified copies of information on Indian immigrants to descendants as proof of lineage for OCI Card applications processed through the High Commission of India.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Nalanda University: Re-established international university in India focused on historical studies, Buddhist/Indic heritage, and Asian studies with international governance. Comparable as a culturally-rooted heritage institution seeking to revive classical Asian scholarly traditions and engage in cross-cultural research.

Broad incumbents

• SOAS University of London: UK university specializing in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with deep coverage of Indian languages, performing arts, and Indology. Comparable as a globally recognized institution with parallel focus on Indian/South Asian cultural studies, languages, and heritage research.
• Mahatma Gandhi University (India): Large Indian state university in Kerala named after Mahatma Gandhi with extensive faculties across sciences, humanities, and technology. Comparable as a namesake institution sharing brand heritage and cultural anchoring, though operating at much larger scale in India.
• Banaras Hindu University: Major Indian central university with strong faculties in Indian music, performing arts, Sanskrit, Indology, and Asian studies. Comparable as a heritage Indian institution offering similar cultural and linguistic programs at significantly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Ecole des Mascareignes: Private Mauritian tertiary institution offering professional and applied programs. Comparable as a domestic tertiary education competitor in Mauritius operating in the same regulatory and demographic market.
• Central University of Mauritius: Public university in Mauritius offering applied and vocational tertiary programs. Comparable as a fellow Mauritian government tertiary education institution competing for the same domestic student pool.
• Charles Telfair Institute: Private Mauritian higher education institution offering business, management and applied programs in partnership with European universities. Comparable as a domestic tertiary competitor attracting Mauritian students across alternative specializations.
• University of Mauritius: National public research university of Mauritius offering tertiary education across multiple disciplines. Comparable as the principal local tertiary competitor for Mauritian students and as a fellow government-funded higher education institution operating under similar regulatory oversight.
• Open University of Mauritius: Mauritius's primary distance and online learning institution offering flexible tertiary programs. Comparable as a government-funded alternative tertiary education provider in Mauritius and as a competitor for adult learners seeking flexible qualifications.

Others

• Gandhian Basic School (MGI subsidiary): Pre-vocational school operating under MGI's governance delivering Gandhian-based prevocational education. Listed as ecosystem reference only — it is a wholly-owned operating subsidiary of MGI rather than a true peer, included to acknowledge the integrated MGI education continuum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcTVQJ9wPaFnHEQkJmdr2Aw?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/mgirti.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mahatma-gandhi-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mahatma Gandhi Institute