The increasing nature of global knowledge has made higher education move to a closer relationship with the industries. Universities in India have been given paramount importance for the country’s development; hence, recommendations were forwarded by various educational commissions and policies to focus on university–industry relations (UIR). The article attempts to understand UIR by highlighting its opportunities and challenges. The present article studied the recommendation of policy documents of higher education in India on UIR in the post-independence period, focusing on the roles of university education. The documents in this article include the reports of various educational commissions, namely the University Education Commission 1948–49, the Education Commission of 1964–66 and the National Knowledge Commission of 2005 and also the documents of significant educational policies of India, namely the National Policy on Education 1968 , National Policy on Education 1986 and National Education Policy 2020. Documents analysis as a method was used to understand the recommendation on UIR. The growing concern of university–industry collaboration can be seen in policy documents.