British council and IDP Australia are changing the IELTS test fee for all tests administered after 1st January, 2012 from INR 7,600 to INR 7,900. So the current test fee of INR 7,600 will be applicable for candidates, who have their test scheduled till the end of December, 2011. Any candidates who will register after this will be required to pay the new test fee of INR 7,900.

The British Council has awarded scholarships to eight Indian students, each of whom will receive an amount of Rs 3, 00,000 towards the cost of tuition fees to study overseas. The award winners will begin a full time postgraduate programme at any overseas university that uses IELTS as a part of its admission requirements.

British Council has launched the British Council IELTS Scholarship Award with the main purpose of helping Indian Students to continue their postgraduate study at any university in foreign country. Deepika Subramaniam, head, exams marketing, British Council, said, "The 2011 IELTS scholarship attracted extremely high quality applications from across India, making the selection process even more difficult than the previous year."

The Cambridge University's Certificate of Advanced English is now recognized by the Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and UK Border Agency (UKBA). This test can be taken to confirm your English language ability when applying for a student or immigration visa.

The decision was made by UK immigration and Australia immigration in a bid to attract more students to higher education establishments both in Australia and the UK as said by Cambridge. Both countries have recently been facing same kind of problems for bringing in stricter student immigration rules.

UKBA now recognizes Cambridge's Key English Test, Preliminary English Test, Business English Certificate, Certificated Version of Business Language Testing Service, Certificate of Advanced English, and Certificate of Proficiency in English, International Legal English Certificate and International Certificate of Financial English as suitable tests to confirm English language ability.

In the past, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) was the main test used for assessing English language ability. However, it is not always easy for students to find places on IELTS courses due to the high demand for these tests.