Making efforts to ease travel restrictions for Indian students in foreign universities: Centre

New Delhi: Minister of State (MoS) External Affairs, V Muraleedharan on Thursday (July 29, 2021) said that India has been making efforts to ease travel restrictions wherever in place, for Indian students enrolled in foreign universities to make their travel to their respective countries possible.

Replying to Sanjay Singh in the Rajya Sabha on steps taken by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Muraleedharan said, "The Ministry has been making efforts for easing travel restrictions wherever in place, for Indian students enrolled in foreign universities to make their travel to respective countries possible."

He also said that travel restrictions were being eased for Indian students to travel to many countries, including the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Georgia, etc. 

"Issue of travel restrictions has been taken up at ministerial level with several countries. Consequently, travel restrictions are being eased for Indian students to travel to many countries, including the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Georgia,” the minister said in the upper house. 

“More countries are expected to open up when the Covid situation improves," Muraleedharan said.

Further, he also informed that Indian missions abroad have been actively taking up these issues with the respective governments and have been impressing upon those governments to ease the travel restrictions.
The remarks came at a time when many people, especially students studying in foreign universities are struggling to travel back due to the ongoing restrictions.

India on Thursday reported 43,509 fresh COVID-19 infections, 38,465 recoveries in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported since 32 continuous days. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs, informed the ministry.

The MEA earlier also said that that the ministry has been taking steps to normalise the movement of people from India ever since the number of daily new infections reduced following the deadly second wave of Covid-19 in India.

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