No cap on visa to UK for Indian students: British envoy

New Delhi : Britain on Tuesday said there is no cap on visa for Indian students and they are free to access world-class education in top notch UK universities.
The British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith said that the UK had announced 600 scholarships for Indian students aspiring to study in the UK.
“The UK has no cap on visas for students from India or anywhere else. All are treated same. Whoever comes will join almost half a million international students who come in the UK to access word-class education in the world-class universities,” he said here.
Asquith was speaking at the India launch of the report of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.
India has time and again asked Britain to relax student visa rules for greater mobility of students. The UK’s visa policy requires students to return home after their courses end — a move that has led to fall of Indian students enrolling in British universities by 50 per cent.As per estimates, the number of study visas issued to Indian nationals has fallen drastically. Asquith also said that the UK is participating in several initiatives of the Indian government to promote skilling.