New Delhi — India’s technical-education regulator has served cease-and-desist notices to more than 100 mostly private institutes for forging partnerships with foreign universities without its approval, reported the Indo Asian News Service.

The All India Council for Technical Education, which approves higher-education courses in engineering, business, and other technical disciplines, has also served notices to nearly 170 other institutes for offering unauthorized courses.

The central government has asked India’s states to take legal action against the institutions.

Last month Arjun Singh, India’s minister in charge of higher education, took out newspaper advertisements asking students and parents to be cautious while seeking admission to unauthorized private higher-education institutions, most of which have opened in the last 10 years. In the past Mr. Singh has expressed reservations about allowing foreign universities to operate in India.

The higher-education minister also asked the education regulators to take immediate action against institutions that made false claims about their approval status and about their foreign partnerships.

The technical-education regulator is authorized to monitor the operations of foreign institutes and universities that provide technical education in India. —Shailaja Neelakantan