With demands for affordable education for wards of overseas Indians
growing, India has revived the idea of a university to cater to this
need, with Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi giving a pledge
at the mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Mauritius.
Though
the contours of the university, its courses and structure is to be
worked out, Ravi told IANS in an interview here that the institution may
have affiliate colleges across the world, so as to enable the children
of non-resident Indians (NRIs) to get education at an affordable cost.
"We
announced an NRI University at the mini PBD (in Mauritius), and we
decided to establish the university in India," Ravi said at his Akbar
Bhavan office.
The Mauritius event was held Oct 26-28 in the Indian Ocean island nation.
The
idea of an NRI university, which was to be set up in Bangalore three
years ago, had run into rough weather after a case against its
establishment was filed in a court.
"We had decided to establish
it in Bangalore. But it has been postponed," he said, referring to the
court case. To ensure that the new university plan does not get into
trouble, Ravi said the ministry wanted it to be established under Indian
laws.
"Now my task is to establish the NRI university - meant
largely for overseas Indian students - to work under the rules and
regulations of the Indian laws. I don't want someone to go to court
again. We had to stop earlier because somebody went to court. I do not
want that to happen."
Though the university will be for NRIs,
only 50 percent of the seats will be reserved for them. The rest will be
filled up by resident Indians, he said.
Asked why Mauritius was
chosen to have the mini PBD this year, Ravi said the original plan was
to have the event in one of the Gulf countries.
"But since we
have the PBD in January next year at Kochi in Kerala, where Mauritius
President Rajkeswur Purryag will be the chief guest, we expect an
enthusiastic participation from Gulf countries where a large number of
persons from Kerala live.
"So we requested Maurutius to host the
mini PBD, which is held with a definitive purpose of reaching out to
people of Indian origin in the host country and from nations nearby," he
said.
Apart from Mauritius, where almost 80 percent of the
1.1-million population is of Indian origin, the sixth edition of the
mini PBD at Port Louis saw participation from many African countries and
island nation states in the Indian Ocean with Indian populations.
"It
was received well by the Mauritius government and the people of
Mauritius. With all enthusiasm, they accepted it, have done it and made
it a success. I could see the enthusiasm of their government and their
people. I had to stop the registration, as it crossed 1,000 and there
was no place to sit," Ravi said about the event.
The Mauritius
mini PBD saw discussions on overseas Indians' challenges and issues
concerning their well-being and connections with their motherland.
"Apart
from education, the major issue they raised was lack of travel
facilities. They want connectivity with India. Air India (official
Indian carrier) can do a lot in this regard. I am writing to the civil
aviation minister in this regard... Not only on connectivity to
Mauritius, but also to other parts of the world," he said.
"The
advantage of this kind of mini PBD is that it will send a message to
Indians abroad that India will come to them for this kind of conferences
and interact with the ordinary people, and they get encouragement to
think about their ancestral linkages and that India has concerns about
them," Ravi added.
There are an estimated 20 million Indians or people of Indian origin in the world, the largest diaspora after the Chinese.
NRI varsity plan revived, says Ravi
