The government on Wednesday announced that it would put in place a mechanism to regulate the activities of agents of foreign educational institutions operating in India in a bid to protect students from unscrupulous middlemen.

Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said that even as the government was contemplating such steps in India, the Australian government had already agreed to put in place a regulatory mechanism to keep an eye on the agents of its educational institutions.

With the attacks in Australia raising questions about the safety of Indians studying abroad, he said the government was also planning to depute a Special Officer in Indian missions to look after the welfare of students.

He said the Government was planning to come out with a legislation to cover some of these aspects. Plans are afoot to make registration compulsory for all students going abroad to study so that the information could be passed on to the embassies. “As part of the e-Governance in Emigration project, the details of Indian students going overseas for education will be registered. This will help establish a database of Indian students going abroad,” he said, adding that the project will be completed by end of next year.