1. The ‘International Students’ Day’ & ‘ITEC Day’  are being jointly celebrated by the High Commission of India at 1630 hours on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at Samudra Ball Room, Hotel Taj Samudra, Colombo.

2. International Students Day is organized every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of independent India. This event aims to bring together all Sri Lankan students who have studied in India. The Government of India offers nearly 800 scholarships to Sri Lankan students, out of which 500 are for studying in Sri Lankan universities/colleges, and about 300 are meant for studies at educational institutions in India. Sri Lankan students are also eligible to apply for highly subsidized self-financing slots provided by Government of India.

3. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme was instituted by a decision of the Indian Cabinet on 15 September 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance of the Government of India. The decision regarding setting up the ITEC programme was predicated on the underlying belief that "it was necessary to establish relations of mutual concern and inter-dependence based not only on commonly held ideals and aspirations, but also on solid economic foundations”. The Programme completes 50 years of existence this year.

4. Sri Lanka is one of the most important partners in ITEC programme. 190 training slots are allocated annually for capacity building & training in diverse areas including IT, English language, management, rural development, finance, mass communication and remote sensing.

5. Alumni members of the ITEC programme and those who availed various scholarships to study in India or who studied in India under Self-Financing Scheme wanting to participate in this joint celebration are requested to send an e-mail in confirmation along with their particulars to commercialsec@gmail.com