A big majority of Indians surveyed in a new opinion poll see China as a security threat, the director of the Australia India Institute, Professor Amitabh Mattoo said today. The poll, conducted on behalf of the A.I.I and the Lowy Institute for International Policy, provides intriguing insights into the issues concerning Indians today. While 83 per cent of those polled saw China as a threat, 63 per cent would like ties with Beijing to strengthen.

A report to be published tomorrow suggests skilling up migrants to become language teachers could help realise government plans to make Australia more ‘Asia literate’. The report, published by the Australia India Institute based at the University of Melbourne, says innovative ways to deliver language teaching will be needed if the Federal government’s plan to introduce the teaching of Hindi in Australian schools is to become a reality.

A poll released by the Australia India Institute and the Lowy Institute reveals some surprising findings on Indian public opinion towards Australia. Despite bad press over security of Indian students in 2009-10, Australia is well-liked in India. Indians hold relatively warm feelings towards Australia (56 degrees on a scale of 0 to 100), which ranks fourth after the United States (62), Singapore (58) and Japan (57) out of 22 countries in the survey.

A Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a new Visiting Chair in Indian Studies at the University of Melbourne will be signed with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Melbourne on Monday. The MOU formalises one of five ICCR Visiting Chairs to be established in Australia following the announcement of the initiative by India’s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi in October.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Richard Marles, MP and the former Secretary, Department of Defence Ric Smith will tomorrow launch a major report on Indian Ocean Security in Canberra. The report, commissioned by The Australia India Institute, based at the University of Melbourne, is the product of an international task force comprising experts on diplomacy and security from Australia and India.

Dr Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for Human Resource Development, and Distinguished Fellow of the Aust

Twenty high-profile artists from India and Australia will be embarking on a journey to India’s historic city of Jaipur to collaborate and create new artworks. Running from the 20th to the 31st of January, The Australia India Institute’s Artists’ Retreat will see artists taking part in a series of curated sessions, and visiting sites of inspiration in India such as the Amber Fort.

A key forum policy forum in New Delhi has called on Australia, India and Indonesia to take the lead in shaping the region’s response to the growing might of China

India inspired a passion for community development work in Hayley Bolding, one of four young Victorians shortlisted for the state section of the Young Australian of the Year Award. Bolding, now 30, was just 23 and working as an intern with a not-for-profit organisation in the Indian city of Mumbai, when she saw an urgent need for capacity building across similar bodies. She founded Atma – which means 'soul' in the Hindi language – to support local groups in their efforts to give children a better chance at life through education.

The Director of the Australia India Institute, Professor Amitabh Mattoo is available for comment on the Henry Review’s release and its implications for relations between Australia and India. He can be reached today by mobile phone on 047-830-1068 or from Monday morning at his office in Melbourne (03) 9035-8146.

The Australia India Institute, based at the University of Melbourne has launched a report to consider urgent issues relating to tobacco control in one of the world’s most populous nations. At the centre of the policy, is the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco products to mitigate the tobacco epidemic in India. The report has been inspired by the efforts of the Australian government, which legislated plain packaging of all tobacco products on December 1, 2012.

The Know India Programme (KIP) for diaspora youth is conducted by the Ministry of Overseas India Affairs (MOIA) and three programmes will be conducted in 2012-2013 in Goa, Uttaranchal and Karnataka.

The Australia-India Council (AIC) is now welcoming funding applications until 18 November 2011. AIC grants are intended to provide seed funds for innovative proposals for projects which are likely to promote long-term contact and cooperation between Australia and India.

The Australia India Institute, Indian NGO Asha and the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne launched in Delhi a new programme called A New India-Australia Partnership to Support the Aspirations of Delhi's Urban Poor.

The Australia India Institute and the University of Melbourne are poised to become the focus of Indian studies in Australia through a series of key initiatives announced by the State Government. As part of its Engaging India strategy, the Government has announced funding for a Chair in Contemporary Indian Studies at the Institute, 10 prestigious scholarships and a public lecture series featuring eminent Indians.

Launch of Australia India Institute will strengten bilateral ties.Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced $8.106 million (Rs32 crore) funding to support the Australia-India Institute. The University of Melbourne and its university partners in Australia, the University of New South Wales and La Trobe University, will invest another $2 million (Rs8 crore) in the Institute, bringing the total investment in the project to more than $10 million (Rs40 crore) over the next three years.