CHENNAI: “In the field of education, there has been an increase in students opting to study in Russia. There was a 30 per cent jump in students with over 1,200 Indians opting to study in Russia for higher studies in 2019, ” said Consulate General of Russian Federation, Consul-General, O Avdeev.
Addressing mediapersons here Friday, he said the students of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute in Chennai on a regular basis go for training programmes at the leading Russian Universities – the Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic and the Southern Ural University.
He also referred to the Indo-Russian Joint Venture Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli and said the first two units were already operational, while another two were ‘under construction’. Another two units would be set up under a long term target in the next 20 years, he said.
Regarding space exploration, he said Russia has committed to sharing its experience in training of future Indian spacemen for a faster adaptation to overstress and weightlessness, which is a prerequisite for a success of the first manned space mission of India.
On tourism sector, he said tourists from South India to Russia increased and vice versa for recreational purposes and spiritual tourism. Recently, a group of 8 traveled from Coimbatore to Russia to spread the message of cervical cancer. The Consulate General of the Russian Federation has taken measures to give free tourist visas to Indians who visit St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, he said.
The Consul-General also denied rumours of Russian President Vladmir Putin visiting Tamilnadu to watch the famous bull taming sport Jallikattu.