British minister announces 300 new scholarships

Britain has announced around 300 new scholarships worth over 1.5 million pounds during 2016-17 for Indian students opting for studies in Britain.

"Around 300 new scholarships for Indian students will be offered in September 2016. Scholarships of around 3,000-5,000 pounds each will be provided to students for admissions in more than 40 universities in the UK," British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sajid Javid said on Wednesday evening.

He said his country was committed to supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of preparing young Indians for the 21st century.

He announced the launch of '2016 UK-India Year of Education Research and Innovation (UKIERI)' campaign at the British Council here.

Javid announced an exchange programme for facilitating internship of British students in around 10 universities in India.

"Graduates from the UK will come and teach in Indian schools for a certain period of time," he added.

The minister said the year-long UKIERI campaign would highlight the strength and mutual benefits of the bilateral relations across a range of digital technology-enabled education and training initiatives.

Britain's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and India's Ministry of Human Resource Development will be key players in the campaign.

Meanwhile, officials of Chevening fellowship -- the largest scholarship scheme funded by the British government -- said though the numbers of Indian students visiting Britain for studies had gone down due to revised visa policy of the British government, most students who now applied got the visa.

"About 90 percent of the applicants who opt for studies in the UK get the visa," they said.