The Indian Government has provided £3m to fund a UK-based centre for sustainable development at the University of Oxford.
The centre will be based at Somerville College, that attended by the the first female Prime Minister of the UK Margaret Thatcher and named after Indira Gandhi, the first female Prime Minister of India, who also studied there.
The Indian government’s contribution is matched by a further £5.5m from Somerville College and Oxford University, with The Indira Gandhi Centre for Sustainable Development providing scholarships for Indian postgraduates as part of the deal.
The centre will work on food security, environmental sustainability and international governance research.
Five fully-funded scholarships will be available to Indian students studying at the centre, with scholars encouraged to return to India to put their expertise into practice.
“The Indira Gandhi Centre will be a leading centre for research on environmental issues,” said a spokesperson for the Indian Government. “It will play a major role in supporting India’s efforts in sustainable development as well as forging lasting partnerships between Indian institutions of learning and the University of Oxford.”
The centre was formally launched in New Delhi and is expected to be fully established in time for the centenary celebrations of Mrs Gandhi’s birth on 19 November 1917.
