Bangalore, Feb 07: Britain intends to raise the number of scholarships offered to Indians under the Chevening programme to 3,000 a year from the present 130, its Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Saturday.
"Prime Minister (Tony Blair) has set a target and we are committed to increase the number to 3,000 scholarships a year," Straw said here after distributing Chevening certificates to Indians who have won scholarships to study in the United Kingdom.
Straw, however, did not refer to the time-frame by which the target would be achieved.
"India is the largest beneficiary of Chevening (the country home of the British Foreign Secretary) programmes in the world," he said.
He recalled that he had visited Bangalore 25 years ago during his honeymoon and again 12 years ago on an official visit, and said the city had progressed over the years.
Straw earlier visited corporate headquarters of Nasdaq-listed software major Infosys Technologies in Bangalore.
Noting that more than 70 British companies had operations here, he said these links were being reciprocated by Indian companies by investing in the UK IT sector or collaborating with British companies on cutting-edge biotechnlogy research.
"Increasingly, our business ties are a true two-way partnership, to the benefit of both our countries," Straw said. Bureau Report