New Delhi, Apr 18 (IANS): The Central government on Wednesday launched a common admission portal for foreign students to promote Indian education to "200,000 international students by 2023".

The portal 'Study in India' was launched here as an initiative by the Human Resource Development Ministry, aided by the External Affairs Ministry.

Under the initiative, a total of 160 higher education institutes have been identified to provide education to international students seeking to study in India.

Calling the endeavour a "major step forward" to freeing Indian education market for foreign students, the Secretary, Higher Education, R. Subrahmanyam said that about 55 per cent of the total seats on offer at these 160 institutes will come with fee waivers.

The venture will include easing of visa requirements for international students.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh and diplomats from over 30 countries attended the launch.