The British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, Bharat Joshi, on Wednesday said depreciation of the rupee could be a reason for the decline in the number of Indian students seeking admission to the universities in the U.K.
The drop, evident from the number of visas issued, has, also meant an increase in the quality of Indian students coming to the U.K., he said.
At a press conference, Mr. Joshi, a career diplomat for 18 years, said the decline in the student visas was in “single digit and not huge.” Previously, both the number of applications received and the number of rejections were higher.
Ten per cent of the four lakh overseas students in the U.K. were Indians, while the largest group was Chinese.
“Our relationship with India has transformed and we have more resources in India than ever before,” said Mr. Joshi, who took charge about six weeks ago.
“Commercial relationship is at the heart of what we do,” he said, listing healthcare, the automobile industry and the manufacturing sector as some of the areas that offered scope for more cooperation.
The U.K. Trade and Investment, according to a release, would organise the Great British Festival in Chennai on December 11. Around 35 British companies have confirmed their participation in the event which is targeted at Indian businesses and entrepreneurs.
There would be focussed sessions on infrastructure, manufacturing, retail and education as these were among the most active in the southern region.
The target, Mr. Joshi said, was to double the trade between India and the U.K., both ways.
Bilateral trade in 2012 was £15.4 billion and the U.K. was on course to double this in two years. The U.K. is the third largest investor in India after Mauritius and Singapore, and the largest European investor in India with $17.6 billion investments between 2000 and 2013.
This translated into 9 per cent of all foreign direct investment inflow in to India.
