The 2009 guidelines make it mandatory for international institutions to seek approval from the Ministry of External Affairs before signing Memorandum of Understanding with Indian institutions

International educational institutions operating in India without government approval will come under the scanner, Ministry ofExternal Affairs spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava said, during a weekly briefing on August 6.

According to Indian Express, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is planning to review the status of Confucius institutes being operated jointly by Chinese Confucius Institute and seven Indian institutes. The government is also planning to scrutinize around 54 MoUs signed between Indian and Chinese educational institutions.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson said the government had in 2009 released guidelines regarding the establishment and functioning of foreign cultural centres in India. The guidelines made it mandatory for all international institutions to seek an approval from the MEA before signing MoU with any Indian institution.

Obviously, in the absence of proper approval from the MEA, the institutions will come under the scanner of the government. The report said that the government plans to review the status of Confucius Institutes under these guidelines, however, it did not specify whether any of these institutions violate the guidelines or not.

Earlier India-based Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Rong maintained that the Chinese government hopes India to treat China-India education cooperation in an objective and fair manner.

As media reports, the Indian government is taking several measures to limit China’s participation in India following the deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on June 15. Several reports suggest that the government might take measures like limiting visas and stopping cultural and youth exchanges apart from reviewing the status of Chinese funded Confucius Institutes in India. Reports say that a proposal is being prepared by the government’s China Study Group under the leadership of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.