Is Australia still one the best place to study, live and work? Few recent incidents attacks for Indian nationals in Victoria sparked some concerns on some foreign communities and believed that racial discrimination is widespread across Australia.

The Report:

The Indian government has criticised Australia for failing to prevent attacks on Indian nationals, after the latest incident in which a man was set on fire in Melbourne.

Crime squad investigators say the circumstances leading up to a 29-year-old Indian man, Jaspreet Singh, being set on fire in an alleged attack early on Saturday are "unusual" - but not racially motivated.

The man is in hospital in a serious condition with burns to 15 per cent of his body on his

hands, face and legs.

A hospital spokesman said he remained in a serious but stable condition on Sunday.

It's alleged he was randomly approached by four men who burned his car and set him on fire.

"I believe there's no reason at this stage to consider this in any way racially motivated," Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Neil Smyth told reporters on Saturday.

"The circumstances of parking a car randomly on a side street and just some people approaching him are a bit strange and it's highly unlikely, therefore, to be a targeted attack on any individual."

But India's Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who is responsible for Indians working or studying abroad, reacted sharply on Saturday and rebuked Australia for failing to prevent such attacks.

"I want to make it loudly clear that the (Australian) government should take preventive action," he said on the sidelines of a conference in Delhi.

"Why cannot they arrest them and put them behind bars and prosecute them? Surely, the Australian police must be efficient enough to mark these people."

"Our government expresses serious concerns and is waiting for results," the minister added.

Police were told the man and his wife left a dinner party in Essendon between 1.30am and 2am on Saturday and drove to their nearby home in Grice Crescent.

The man told police he dropped his wife off and then drove to a nearby street to park the car.

As he was getting out of the vehicle, four men allegedly attacked him, pushed him back against the vehicle and poured an unknown fluid on him.

One of the men is alleged to have then ignited the fluid with a lighter before all four men fled.

The man then ran from the car, throwing his burning clothes into the street.

He suffered burns to 15 per cent of his body.

The attackers have been described in only a "generalised description which is really just unspecific, just four males", Det Act Snr Sgt Smyth said.

"It is an unusual event," he said.

In New Delhi, the Indian government said on Saturday it was in touch with Australian authorities but urged the media to report on the latest incident responsibly.

"The Indian high commissioner in Canberra and consul general in Melbourne are following up this matter vigorously with the Australian authorities," foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

"Under the circumstances, the media is advised to exercise utmost restraint in reporting on these sensitive issues, as it could aggravate the situation and could have a bearing on our bilateral relations with Australia."

A series of attacks on Indian nationals and students in Australia sparked street protests and a diplomatic row in the middle of last year.

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Saturday the federal government condemns all violence - regardless of motivation.

"The government condemns all acts of violence in the strongest possible way," she said in a statement.

"This matter remains under investigation by the Victorian police," she said, adding that the government would not comment further until police could provide more information.

A police source has since told Fairfax Media "there are things that don't add up in the initial reports".

A police spokeswoman said the investigation was ongoing and the first task was always to establish whether a crime had occurred.

The incident threatens to further fracture relations between Australia and India, which are already strained following a spate of attacks on Indian students.

Meanwhile, Slain Indian student Nitin Garg will be farewelled in a funeral service on Sunday after his body was flown home to his family.

Hundreds of mourners are expected to pay their respects to Mr Garg, whose body will be cremated near his family's home in the northern state of Punjab.

Mr Garg, 21, died after he was stabbed in Melbourne's western suburbs last weekend while walking through a park to his workplace at Hungry Jack's late at night.