New Delhi, April 18: The Central government on Wednesday launched a common admission portal for foreign students to promote Indian education to "200,000 international students by 2023".
The portal 'Study in India' was launched here as an initiative by the Human Resource Development Ministry, aided by the External Affairs Ministry.
Under the initiative, a total of 160 higher education institutes have been identified to provide education in over 1,500 courses to international students seeking to study in India. The institutes include all Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Presidency College, Kolkata, etc.
"Study in India has many dimensions. It's a project where India becomes a hub of educational activities ... Over the years we have seen a stagnation in the number of students coming to India. Singapore, Australia, and many other countries attracted more students. From India also, I have seen Australia doing a 'Study in Australia' project," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a video address.
"We are today focussing on Asia, ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), Africa, Gulf (Middle East) but... I have a dream that even American families will send their children to complete undergraduate courses in India," he said.
Calling the endeavour a "major step forward" to freeing Indian education market for foreign students, Secretary, Higher Education, R. Subrahmanyam said that about 55 per cent of the total seats on offer at these 160 institutes will come with fee waivers.
The venture will include easing of visa requirements for international students.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh and diplomats from over 30 countries attended the launch.
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Punjab: Two shooters, 5 others arrested in AAP sarpanch murder case
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Police on Monday said it has arrested two shooters and five other accused in the murder case of an AAP sarpanch who was killed at a wedding in Amritsar on January 4.
The two shooters -- Sukhraj Singh alias Ganga from Patti in Tarn Taran district and Karamjit Singh from Gurdaspur district -- were arrested from Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Sunday in coordination with the local police and central agencies, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav told reporters here.
The two were produced before a court in Raipur and taken into custody after obtaining transit remand. They are being brought to Amritsar for further investigation, he said.
The other five arrested accused, who were part of the support and logistical module, were arrested from Punjab, the DGP said.
Jharmal Singh, sarpanch of Valthoa village in Tarn Taran, was shot dead at the wedding at point-blank range.
CCTV footage showed the two shooters walking into the wedding venue, one of them pulling out a gun and firing at Singh's head before fleeing the spot. Singh was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Soon after the incident, the AAP government drew flak from the opposition over alleged deteriorating law and order in Punjab, with the BJP demanding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's resignation.
