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QUESTION NO.3824 SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS

August 11, 2021

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3824
TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2021

SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS


3824. SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA:
SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:
SHRI N. REDDEPPA:
SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Ministry has set up a system for students who wants to join/return to study abroad to contact the Ministry of External Affairs if they face difficulties;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Ministry has taken up the issue of difficulty in obtaining visas for higher education overseas with the Governments concerned;

(d) if so, the details of steps being taken by the country concerned; and

(e) the steps the Ministry is taking to ensure that visa services are opened for all geographies where student are to travel?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) & (b) Welfare of Indians abroad, including students, is top priority of the Government of India. Indian Missions/Posts have voluntary registration of all Indian nationals, including students, living in the country. MADAD portal, launched in February 2015, extends helping hand to all Indians abroad. Student Module of the MADAD portal, launched on 15 July, 2016, enables Indian students abroad to register voluntarily and provide data about their course, location, institution, duration of the course, etc. besides creating a database of Indian students going abroad. The Ministry through its Missions/Posts abroad has also been regularly interacting with Indian students studying abroad encouraging them to register their details on the Students Module voluntarily. The Ministry and Indian Missions abroad issue advisories, from time to time, asking Indian students to carry all documentation and undertake due diligence to ensure that the foreign institutions to which they are seeking admission have proper authorization and capacities. Separately, the India Centre for Migration, a think tank of the Ministry, has prepared a "Student Handbook for Studying Abroad”, providing basic information to students intending to study overseas.

(c) to (e) The Ministry has been making efforts for easing travel restrictions wherever in place, for Indian students enrolled in foreign universities to make their travel to respective countries possible. Our Missions abroad have been actively taking up these issues with the respective Governments and have been impressing upon those Governments to ease the travel restrictions. Also the issue of travel restrictions has been taken up at the Ministerial level with several countries. Consequently, travel restrictions are being eased for Indian students to travel to many countries, including USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Georgia, etc.; more countries are expected to open up when Covid situation improves.

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