Education ministry tells RS about steady decline in Indian students going abroad for higher education

According to data from the Ministry of Education, the number of Indian students going abroad for higher studies has been declining for the last three years. The Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, revealed the information.

Majumdar provided data that at one time, over 908, 000 Indian students went abroad for higher studies till 2023, but this figure has fallen to 770, 000 in 2024, and to 626, 000 in 2025 respectively. The numbers are for the years 2023 and 2025 and were sourced from the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

The Minister of State quoted, "Going abroad for studies is usually a privilege of the person and depends on various factors such as the person's affordability, getting a bank loan, familiarizing oneself with foreign cultures, the person's aptitude for a particular subject, etc. The government also realizes that there is a global workplace, especially in the knowledge economy era, "

"Besides, the government is also looking at the diaspora as the major developers of the country by their sharing of knowledge and expertise." The Minister was quoted as saying that the government has implemented several measures consistent with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 for the purpose of elevating higher education standards in India. The measures include efforts to upgrade facilities, strengthen accreditation, and promote research and innovation besides spreading digital education.

"As part of this, Foreign Universities have been allowed to set up their campuses in India to offer world class education in India. 14 foreign universities have been given the go ahead so far, whereas, five international universities have been allowed to conduct their operations in GIFT City in Gujarat, " Majumdar said.