Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia launched New Colombo Plan

Australian Government's New Colombo Plan for India was launched at Mumbai University on 4 September 2014 by Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott. The plan was launched and the MoUs were signed at the time when Australian Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott is on a two day visit to India. He was on a two day visit of India from 4 September to 5 September 2014.

The plan was launched to enhance student exchange and collaboration between universities of the two countries. At the event, fourteen memorandums of understanding were signed between the Universities.

Aim of the New Colombo Plan
Canberra’s New Colombo Plan aims at lifting knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study in India.

Plan involves
• Scholarship programme for study up to one year
• Internships or mentorships
• A flexible mobility grants programme for short- and long-term study

The plan will be implemented from the next academic year.

Signing bodies of the MoUs from the two sides

As per the MoU, the fund for the programme has been divided between the Government of Australia and University Grants Commission. Both the bodies will bear half of the funds with an aim at targeting a two-way traffic from this plan.

He started his visit from Mumbai and then during the visit he paid homage to the 26/11 terror attack victims and addressed business leaders. Apart from this, he also attended felicitation ceremony of young cricketers by Oz cricket greats Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee at Cricket Club of India.

The Colombo Plan
The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in January 1950. It was launched on 1 July 1951 as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia.

At the time of plan and launch, it was called Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia and was a group of seven Commonwealth nations namely Australia, Britain, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. But at present the international organisation has 26 nations including non-Commonwealth countries. Its name was changed to The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific when it adopted a new Constitution in 1977.