New Delhi, May 5: Sydney-based University of New South Wales (UNSW) has instituted 61 scholarships to attract "bright" Indian minds and provide them financial assistance for studying in the Australian varsity.

The scholarships for the forthcoming July 2018 admissions exclusively for Indians are open to under graduate and post graduate students wishing to study at UNSW -- ranked 26th in the world in employer reputation as per the QS university rankings 2017-18.

These include one full tuition fee scholarship and 10 scholarships each worth (Australian) $10,000 per annum for tuition fees.

Also up for the grabs are 50 awards each worth $5,000 to cover tuition fee for one year that is open to post graduate students only.

A statement from the university said as part of its India strategy, the UNSW, one of the best ranked universities in the world, has been focussing on its twin pillars - strong teaching and robust research - "to dramatically disrupt the manner in which higher education is delivered". 

Australia is fast emerging as the preferred higher education destination with the job market in the country set to grow at 7.8 per cent for the next five years. 

"We need to anticipate the future, especially when it is evolving at such a rapid pace. What you need is not an evolution of thinking but the revolution of thought, if we are to stay relevant. That is the biggest challenge that higher education needs to accommodate and adjust to," said Amit Dasgupta, the India country director of UNSW. 

The statement said that UNSW has been continuously looking for bright minds to deliver on the demands the future would place before the global community.

And as such it has instituted the 'Future of Change' awards for students from India.

"The awards are aimed at attracting and supporting high-achieving Indian students to undertake under graduate or post graduate study at UNSW."

To win awards, candidates need to secure admission to the Semester-2 2018 and submit a two-minute digital video testimonial of how a scholarship at UNSW will help them achieve their aspirations. The last date for applications is May 30, 2018.

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New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.

The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.

According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.

During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.

The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.

Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.

"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.

Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.

In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.

Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.

Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.

The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.

Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.