New Delhi: A total of 31students benefitted from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) scholarships in the past three years, the Union Ministry of Human Resources said.

The above details were given in a written reply by the Union Ministry following a question by YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy in the Parliament here on Thursday. The JICA scholarships are given to students of IIT-Hyderabad to study in various Universities of Japan. The process of selection includes document screening, interview, and selection by Japanese Universities through entrance examination. A total of 31students benefitted from the scholarship during the last 3 years, which includes 9 in 2013, 12 in 2014, and 10 in 2015. During the current year, 13 students were selected for the scholarship. 4 students have been selected for scholarship were from Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, the Ministry said.

India's Stand On China, Masood Azhar Issue

In a written reply to another question by Vijayasai Reddy, the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that in January this year a fresh proposal to designate Masood Azhar has been made to the United Nations Sanction Committee by United States, UK and France. However, China has once again placed a hold on the proposal. The Indian Government has raised this issue with China, including at the highest levels, and has

pointed out that China’s position on listing of well known terrorists under the 1267 Sanctions regime should be in consonance with its stated position on terrorism, the MEA said.

It may be recalled that Pakistan's defence minister is reported to have said that “Hafiz Saeed is a danger to our society also”, while answering a query on Pakistan’s decision to put Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed under house detention in January this year.