Address of High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh

DHAKA, March 20 (NsNewsWire) — Address of the Hon’ble High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh His Excellency Mr.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla: “Hon’ble Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh, His Excellency Janaab Mohammed Nasim, MP
Distinguished guests,
Dear ITEC and ICCR Alumni,
Friends from the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Evening
I am extremely happy to be here today at the annual celebrations of the ITEC and ICCR
Day. Today, we commemorate our alumni and renew our ties with them, and proudly showcase
the abundant pool of talent that comprises the alumni of these two immensely popular
programmes.
2. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme (ITEC) is the flagship
programme of development partnership administration of Government of India. Launched in
1964, the programme has made great strides in building bridges of friendship across 161
countries including those in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as

Pacific and Small Island countries. These friendly nations are invited to share in the India
Development experience acquired seven decades of India’s existence as a free nation. ITEC is
about cooperation and partnership for mutual benefit.

3. Each year, around 50 empanelled elite institutions across India conduct nearly 300 short
term, medium term and long term courses under the ITEC Programme. The courses are fully
funded by the Government of India. As a result of different activities under this programme,
there is now a visible and growing awareness among other countries about the competence of
India as a provider of technical know-how and expertise as well as training opportunities,
consultancy services and feasibility studies. Every year more than 10,000 training slots are
offered to partner countries to cover training in various disciplines like Accounts, Health, Audit,
Management, SME, Rural Development, Parliamentary affairs, etc. Skill development and
capacity building is one of the major objectives of the ITEC programme.

4. Apart from the regular courses offered under the ITEC, special courses and training
programmes are also conducted/scheduled at the specific request of partner countries. In recent
years, special courses have expanded to new areas such as election management (at the
International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM), New Delhi,
government performance management (with Cabinet Secretariat), mid-career training of civil
servants (at National Institute of Administrative Research/National Centre for Good Governance
NIAR/NCGG), Parliamentary Studies (Bureau of Parliamentary Studies), urban infrastructure
management (Human Settlement Management Institute), fragrance and flavour studies
(Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre), WTO related topics (Centre for WTO Studies,
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade), Special Course for Judicial officers etc. Also, some innovative
courses are offered under ITEC, including one on solar technology for semi-literate and illiterate
grandmothers from the Least Developed Countries at Barefoot College, Tilonia are part of the
programme.

5. A tailormade course for teachers on ‘IT, Web Designing, English Communication Skills
and Pedagogy’ was designed on the specific request of the Government of Bangladesh. Two
batches of the tailor-made course have so far been conducted at the National Institute of

Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR), Chennai in which around 80 teachers
from schools, Arts and Science Colleges, Polytechnics, Vocational Education Institutes,
Universities and madrassas have been trained. In addition to this we have started training for
Bangladesh Fire Service Personnel fat Centre for fire safety management and Training, New
Delhi. Thirty participants in two batches were imparted training during current financial year.

6. Another capacity building programme of India – the Technical Cooperation Scheme
(TCS) of Colombo Plan, was started in 1950 with a view to providing technical assistance to
neighbouring Colombo Plan countries. Through this Scheme, India provides comprehensive and
integrated training to participants from member countries of Colombo Plan with the purpose of
assisting them in enhancing their administrative and technical capabilities through human
resource development. 500 slots are offered by India to member countries every year. 35 slots
have been allotted to Bangladesh. The areas of training covered human resource development,
audit and accounts, commerce, information technology, computer education, parliamentary
matters, rural development, textile, water resources, medical sciences, engineering, financial
management, insurance etc. India also deputes a number of lecturers in Bhutan under the TCS of
Colombo Plan.

7. 1500 training slots are available for Bangladesh Civil Servants under Mid-Career
Training Programme (MCTP) in Field Administration over a period of three years. National
Centre for Good Governance, Mussoire, LBSNAA was chosen as the training center for this
course. The training includes in the fields of –Governance, Total Quality Management, Ethics in
Administration, An Overview of National Land record Management Programme and land other
related issues, Social Sector Management, MNREGA, NRLM, Best Practices in Rural Health,
Public Delivery System and Procurement, Financial Inclusion and Direct benefit
Transfer/Aadhar, e-Governance and Service Delivery, e-Office, Decentralization in India,
Community Participation, Disaster Management, Urban Development Issues etc.

8. So far 1407 Bangladesh Civil Servants (272 in 2017-18 alone) have undergone training
under Mid Career Training Programme (MCTP) in 43 batches at National Centre for Good
Governance, Mussoire. 110 Deputy Commissioners (DC) from all 64 districts of Bangladesh

have also received special training at the same institute till now, of which 32 were during current
financial year 2017-18. Apart from this, 156 Judicial Officers have been trained at National
judicial Academy, Bhopal during 2017-18 period in 4 batches. So far 1377 officials have
undergone training in different courses under ITEC Scheme during its inception in 2007-08 till
date, of which 165 were during the current financial year (2017-18) alone. Since its inception in
2007-08, total of 279 slots were availed under TCS Colombo plan of which 15 slots were allotted
in 2017-18 period.

9. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded in 1950 by Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister. ICCR helps to formulate and
implement policies pertaining to India’s external cultural relations, to foster mutual
understanding between India and other countries and to promote cultural exchanges with other
peoples. To this end, ICCR has instituted scholarships to enable foreign nationals to study in
India. The Government of India annually offers scholarships under 24 scholarship schemes for
students from about 135 countries through the ICCR which includes Bangladesh. The ICCR
scholars are offered admission in over 140 prestigious institutions across India including the
University of Delhi, JNU, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
and NITs all over the country.

10. Following the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Her Excellency Sheikh
Hasina to India in 2010, and subsequent visit to Dhaka by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,
Dr Manmohan Singh, the number of ICCR scholarships has been increased from 100 to over 200
per year from 2012 onwards. These scholarships enable Bangladeshi nationals to study in
premier institutions and universities all over India, including in West Bengal, New Delhi,
Bangalore, Pune and Chennai. The ICCR scholarships cover a wide array of courses at the
undergraduate, post graduate and Doctoral levels in a multitude of disciplines including
engineering, science, commerce, humanities, fine arts and management. Students hailing from
all parts of Bangladesh from public as well as private educational institutions have benefitted
from the prestigious ICCR scholarships.

11. On return from India after completion of their studies, the ICCR scholars form an eternal
bond which is nourished from time to time through regular participation in various socio cultural
events organized by the High Commission of India. The ICCR has recently developed a unique
prrtal called the ‘Admission to Alumni’ or ‘a2a portal, through which it seeks to stay in touch
with the ICCR scholars. Needless to say, they are well established in all walks of life in
Bangladesh and abroad, including Government, Academia, Culture and Sports. ICCR alumni
include a vast array of stalwarts, from various walks of life. To name just a few, celebrated
singers Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya, Sadi Mohammad, Sujit Mustafa, Leena Taposhi, Debolina
Sur, Azizur Rahman Tuhin; dancers like Shibli Muhammad, Munmun Ahmed, Tamanna
Rahman, Tabassum Ahmed, Wardha Rihab, Sharmila Banerjee, Pooja Sengupta, Arthy Ahmed,
Wafi Rahman Ananna and Rachel Agnes Peris. Painters like Hamiduzzaman Khan, Prof Nissar
Hossain, Ranjit Das, Abdus Sakur Shah, Farida Zaman, Shishir Bhattacharya. Academics like
Late Prof. Rajeev Humayun, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, former
Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, Professor Dalem Chandra Burman and Barrister
Turin Afroze, are all ICCR scholars. The list is virtually endless. We have a vibrant ICCR and
ITEC alumni community in Bangladesh…and we are glad that some of them are here with us
today.

The Association of Bangladeshi Students Studied in India (ABSCII) has been a pioneer in
cementing the bonds between those who studied in India. The Institute of Diploma Engineers of
Bangladesh (IDEB) has an ITEC Alumni Association. Another alumni association of
Bangladeshi nationals who studied in India aptly called Moitry started its journey last year. We
are closely associated with all these initiatives and continue to encourage them in spreading the
message of friendship and camaraderie between our two great nations.

In the end, I would like to conclude by thanking all of you for joining us today. In particular, I
thank our Chief Guest and a great friend of India, the Hon’ble Minister for Health and Family
Welfare Mr. Mohammed Nasim, profoundly for taking time out from his busy schedule and
gracing the occasion with his presence.

I wish you all a pleasant and enjoyable evening. Jai Hind and Joy Bangla.”