The ban imposed by the UK on student visa application at three centres in north India including Jalandhar,Chandigarh and Delhi will be lifted from March 1,a British minister said on Tuesday. From March 1,this suspension will be lifted for all students wanting to study higher education courses whether foundation degrees,under graduate or post graduate," British Minister for business,innovation and skills Pat McFadden said. UK had temporarily suspended accepting visa applications from February 1 in view of surge in applications during a short period of time. However,the ban was partially lifted on February 13. Speaking at a panel discussion on 'UK-India Partnerships in Education' here McFadden asked to put up a joint fight against terrorism in the wake of recent terror attack in Pune. Such (Pune blast) attacks even happened in UK few years back. But we have to work together and it is a common struggle (fight against terrorism)," he said,adding "Whatever the nationalities of the victims of Pune blast,our sympathies are with them." He said it is a matter of concern for Indian authorities and they should track down people who were behind this blast. On issuing travel advisory by UK to its citizens in India after the Pune blast,McFadden said,"we are always concerned about welfare of our citizens (but) still India remains popular destination for UK citizens." Noting that the UK wants "strong educational ties with India",McFadden said the Indian students should come through a proper procedure and universities there were keen on admitting them.
