India has now opened 160 educational institutions of national importance to foreign students in the first-ever initiative of its kind offering 15,000 seats under the programme in the first round.

A 'Study in India' portal (www.studyinindia.gov.in) was launched in India on Wednesday evening which will be a single window facility to cover all aspects relating to studying in India for foreign students, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

With a budget of Rs 150 crore, the Study in India programme, similar to initiatives launched by Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, seeks to promote India as a preferred destination for pursuing higher education.

Hundreds of students from Bangladesh take admission in educational institutions across India every year either through scholarships given by Indian government or on self-financing basis.

At present, there are an estimated 5,000 students from Bangladesh who are studying in India. Of them, 500 are in Delhi alone, according to a senior official of Bangladesh High Commission here, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Speaking on the occasion of launching the portal, Minister of State for Human Resources Development (HRD) Satyapal Singh said that for the first time, prominent Indian educational institutions have been opened up under the Study in India programme which will benefit both foreign and Indian students.

In his welcome speech, Secretary (Higher Education) R Subrahmaniyam said that this year 15,000 seats have been offered by 160 Indian Institutions under the programme.

The Study in India programme would provide one stop solution through the creation of a centralised portal www.studyinindia.gov.in. The website will be supported by an App and a Helpline number and will not only provide information on the latest offerings on Indian education but also facilitate admissions to foreign students and help them make informed choices based on individual aptitudes and career goals.

EdCIL (India) Limited, a state-owned company, is the implementing agency of the HRD Ministry for the Study in India programme which is a joint initiative of Indian Ministries of HRD, External Affairs, Home and Commerce and Industry.

Launching the portal, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the "Study in India' is an "innovative initiative" to attract students from "our partner countries in South Asia, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa to come and experience the very best of academic learning in the top institutions in India."

"This," she said, "will be achieved through systematic brand-building, identifying quality institutions for receiving the students, creating suitable infrastructure and facilitation structures." The "Study in India Portal" will become a single window to cover all aspects relating to studying in India for foreign students, she added.

In a video message on this occasion, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that to begin with the focus of Study in India programme is on students of 30 Asian, African, Middle East and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

He expressed the hope that families from America will send their children to India for under graduate courses one day.