Bangladeshi students to get three-year visa for studying in India

Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla says Bangladeshi students wishing to study in India and their parents will get three-year visas immediately after their enrolments.

A revised travel deal signed during the July 13-15 visit of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh relaxed student visa, Shringla said.

“They will immediately get a minimum three-year visa,” he said on Wednesday while inaugurating a two-day Indian education fair at the KIB Convention Hall in Dhaka.

Shringla said India is also promoting people-to-people contact between the two neighbours.

Over 1.4 million visas were issued in 2017, which was double the previous year. Around 50 leading educational institutes and universities from India are participating in the fair. 

Encouraging new students to apply to Indian universities and other institutes, Shringla said India is an “important” destination for higher education.

“It has more than 800 universities and 3,800 colleges, and is the second largest English speaking country in the world and offers world-class higher education with modern facilities.”

Studying in India has several advantages: common culture, close to home, common language, common food habit, best connectivity and affordability, Shringla said.

A large number of Bangladeshi students get admission to Indian universities every year for studies at different levels and in varied courses.

India also provides a large number of scholarships in various fields to further encourage and support Bangladeshi students in their quest for a better education.

‘Study in India’ is a new scheme initiated by the India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Under this scheme, India offers 19,000 seats in the best 100 universities. There are about 9,500 fee waivers or scholarships under this scheme.

India offers 200 scholarships to Bangladesh nationals under the ICCR programme.

The fair will help apprise the Bangladeshi youth about the opportunities available in India as well as give Indian universities and education institutions an idea about opportunities available in Bangladesh, said SAPE Events & Media, the organiser of the event.