In a statement, the High Commission said the procedures being adopted to establish the “Indian Origin” have been further revised for Malaysian applicants.

The move is part of a series of initiatives to strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Malaysia, as well as promote academic and cultural cooperation.

Last July, it was reported that India was working to simplify the OCI application process for Malaysian Indians as many applicants faced difficulty in providing proof of ancestry due to lost or unavailable historical documents.

“We have tried to get our government to agree that documents issued by the Malaysian government or former Malaya authorities can be accepted.

“If a document identifies India as the country of origin, we can issue the OCI card,” High Commissioner B N Reddy said.

Separately, the High Commission announced that the Indian Scholarship and Trust Fund (ISTF) will be boosted with an additional RM3 million.

“The ISTF provides annual one-time financial support to students from financially weaker families of the Malaysian Indian community.

Additionally, it said the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established its inaugural Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies at Universiti Malaya (UM).

“In pursuance of the decision to establish the Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies at Universiti Malaya, A Chellaperumal joined UM as ICCR’s inaugural Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies earlier this month.

The announcement follows the 22nd Asean-India Summit held on Oct 26, attended virtually by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.