Indo-US coop in education field poised for major expansion:Rao
Saturday, 8/10/2011
India-US cooperation in the field of education is poised for major expansion, Indian envoy to the US said ahead of the next week's major summit between the two countries on the issue.
"India-US cooperation in the field of education is today poised for major expansion," Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the US said while addressing at the Yale University on "Future Direction in India-US relations".
"We in India see education as critical for achieving its goals to have inclusive growth and to realise the potential for taking the Indian economy to even higher growth trajectory," she said.
The Ambassador said that India has announced major initiatives for massive expansion and upgradation of the education infrastructure, both in the primary education sector and also in the higher education.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and India's Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal would attend the India-US Higher Education Summit on October 13.
"The Summit will bring together not just government officials but also academics and entrepreneurs who are engaged in this area and will provide a platform to develop a blueprint for furthering our horizons in this area," Rao said.
Yale, she said, has had a historical connection with India that goes back more than three centuries beginning with Eliahu Yale and his days in Madras (now Chennai).
Yale has been a pioneer among the US universities when it comes to the study of India - its languages, literature, religions, history, and its politics, economics and society.
"I understand Yale was the first US University to start teaching Sanskrit. Many eminent Indians and Indian-Americans have passed through its portals. Yale is today not only continuing its tradition of engagement but has strengthened it and extensively broadened it through the Yale India Initiative that was launched in 2008," she said.
India US relationship she said is a partnership that seeks to meet common aspirations for mutual prosperity and for peace and security.
