Nedumbassery: The Australian government was obligated to protect Indian students there, Minister of State for External Affairs Sasi Tharoor on Tuesday said.
India's concern over the attacks on students from the country had been conveyed to Australia, he told reporters at the airport here.
Earlier on Tuesday, New Delhi's demands were put across by Union Overseas Minister Vayalar Ravi when Australia's Secretary of Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Lisa Paul met him at his office in New Delhi.
Paul, who is on an official visit, is expected to convey the actions taken by Australia to ensure safety of Indian students, who were attacked there in the recent past. Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy was also present at the meeting.
"They (Australia) want to make some kind of a better regulated way of doing things for students going there. We have told them that there should be some kind of regulation in monitoring agents for Australian universities," Ravi told reporters after the meeting.
He also said that New Delhi has asked the Australian government to ensure at least 13 to 15 dollars per hour to students working there.
Paul assured India that Australia will take all "concrete, positive and urgent" steps to make sure to stop attacks against Indian students Down Under, saying everyone will see a drop in such incidents in the coming days.
"Today I outlined to the Minister some of the concrete, positive and urgent steps Australia has been taking to make sure that these attacks stops and all Indian students are supported well for the duration of their studies in Australia," Paul said.
"We will see a drop in incidents in coming days," she added.
Ravi said they had a "very very fruitful" discussion regarding the issue of Indian students in Australia. "In the meeting, we expressed our concern and we told them about the reports we are receiving and steps required to improve the situation."
Asked whether India was satisfied with the measures taken by Australia, he said it was "not a question of satisfaction and it is a question of action taken".
On reports about another racist attack last night, Paul said it was "very unfortunate" and that criminal elements may be involved in the incident. "Police have increased their presence and capacity in vulnerable areas. We are monitoring the situation more than daily basis," she said.
Asked whether there was any distinct pattern in the attacks, Paul said police were monitoring the situation very closely and "it is not entirely possible to establish a singular pattern.
"We do know that the pattern has been largely about crimes and personal robberies in areas in cities which are susceptible to crime," she said, adding Australia has a zero tolerance against racism.
Noting that Australia "unconditionally" condemns the attacks on Indian students, she said "we welcome 4.5 lakh students from 190 countries to Australia to study."