News Highlight
More than two years after the COVID19 outbreak began, China stated that Indian students would be able to seek visas to return and resume their studies.
Key Takeaway
- China’s embassy in India issued updated procedures for visa applications,
- It included applications for newly enrolled and returning students in its list of visa categories.
- More than 23,000 Indian students were enrolled in Chinese universities as of 2019.
Some hurdles
- The certificate for returning to campus:
- One obstacle for returning students is acquiring a “certificate of returning to campus” required for visa applications.
- Some universities in China are not issuing letters citing the local epidemic situation in their provinces.
- Travel to China:
- Direct flights from India to China are yet to resume, while transit flights are sold at many times the cost of usual fares.
India-China people-to-people relations
- Educational Exchange Programme, 2006:
- It is an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation between the two countries.
- Under this agreement, government scholarships are awarded to the students, by both sides, in recognised institutions of higher learning in each other’s countries.
- The 25 scholarships awarded by India are offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) for learning Hindi.
- Apart from this, Chinese students are also annually awarded scholarships to study Hindi at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan(KHS), Agra.
- For 2020-21, six Chinese students have been selected to study in Agra under this scheme.
- Cultural Relations:
- India-China cultural exchanges date back many centuries.
- Yoga is becoming increasingly popular in China.
- As a result, China was one of the co-sponsors of the UN resolution designating June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
- Indian Bollywood movies were popular in China in the 1960s and 1970s, and their popularity has recently been rekindled.
- The Revival of Nalanda University:
- Efforts to revive Nalanda University got a significant boost; China gave USD 1 million to build a Chinese-type library, marking the first donation for the ambitious project in 2011.
- Indian diaspora:
- The Indian community in China is growing.
- Present estimates put the community strength at around 35,500.
- A significant part of this comprises students (over 18000) who are pursuing courses at various universities in China.
- Inter-Cultural Institutes:
- There are around 1000 yoga schools in China.
- There are three Confucius Institutes in India: Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
- Tourism:
- Tourism plays an essential role in promoting mutual understanding between China and India.
- There are a number of pairs of sister cities and provinces between China and India that wish to encourage exchanges between the cities of our two countries.”
- For example, Chennai-Chongqing, Hyderabad-Qingdao and Aurangabad-Dunhuang.
Pic Courtesy: news18
Content Source: The Hindu