July 23, 2020
Ind-SAT is an exam for grant of scholarships and admissions to foreign students for studying in select Indian universities under the Study in India programme
The Ind-SAT scores serve as a criterion to shortlist students for scholarships for undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes under the ‘Study in India’
The exam was held in 12 countries on a pilot basis this year. The Government plans to extend access to the Ind-SAT test to other countries in the future
Around 780 students had taken admission under the programme during its first year - 2018-19. In the second year, this number rose to about 3,200
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on July 22 conducted the first-ever Indian Scholastic Assessment (Ind-SAT) Test 2020 under the ‘Study in India’ programme. Ind-SAT is an exam for grant of scholarships and admissions to foreign students for studying in select Indian universities under the Study in India programme. The exam is designed to determine the scholastic capability of students applying to study in India. The Ind-SAT scores will serve as a criterion to shortlist meritorious students for the allocation of scholarships for undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes under the ‘Study in India’ programme. EdCIL (India) Ltd, a PSU under MHRD and the implementing agency of SII handled the registrations and other aspects of the examination.
Nearly 5,000 candidates from Nepal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia, and Mauritius appeared for the exam conducted in the proctored internet mode by the National Testing Agency. The Finance Minister, as part of the budget speech this year, had announced that the Ind-SAT exam was proposed to be held in several Asian and African countries, for benchmarking foreign candidates who receive scholarships for studying in Indian higher education centers. The exam was held in 12 countries on a pilot basis this year. The Government plans to extend access to the Ind-SAT test to other countries in the future. The Study in India offers opportunities to study in 116 select higher education institutions in India.
Under Ind-SAT, the selection of students is based on their merit in the school-leaving exam, with the top 2,000 students receiving scholarships while some others are given fee discounts by select institutions. Around 780 students had taken admission under the programme during its first year – 2018-19. In the second year, this number rose to about 3,200. The Indian Government is eager to attract an increasing number of foreign students to a wide range of academic and research institutions across the country. Study in India aims to boost the number of inbound international students in India, doubling the nation’s market share of global education exports from below 1 per cent to 2 per cent. Government regulation currently allows 10-15 per cent additional seats for foreign students.
The initiative comes amid India’s steady effort to improve the quality and scope of higher education and infrastructure in a cross-section of academic disciplines. The move is expected to help India strengthen diplomatic ties with developing foreign nations. An increasing footfall of international students will also help raise contribution in the form of direct spending, indirect spends, and spillover effects. Besides aiding national income growth, this will reduce India’s Export-Import imbalance in the number of international students. After China, India is the second-largest contributor to the annual international student traffic. While there were more than 165,000 Indian students enrolled in colleges abroad, there were over 45,000 foreign students enrolled in India during 2015-16.