Over 13 lakh Indian students to pursue higher education abroad in 2024: Govt

More than 1.3 million Indian students will pursue higher education abroad in 2024, the government said on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in a written reply in Rajya Sabha to questions on whether the government stores data of expatriate students who go abroad for studies.

In his response, Singh shared information about Indian students studying abroad, covering 108 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, Israel and Ukraine.

As per the data made available, as of now, in 2024, 13,35,878 Indian students have pursued higher education abroad.

In 2023, this number was 13,18,955, while in 2022 it was 9,07,404.

This year, out of 1,335,878 students from India, 427,000 studied in Canada, 337,630 in the US, 8,580 in China, eight in Greece, 900 in Israel, 14 in Pakistan and 2,510 in Ukraine.

“Indian missions/posts abroad are constantly engaging with Indian students studying abroad and encouraging them to register with them or on the Global Rishta Portal. They organise ‘welcome ceremonies’ for Indian students who are going abroad for the first time and brief them on security issues in the host countries.

“They also recommend registration with Indian missions/posts and regular contact. Indian missions/posts use the above-mentioned method to collect data of Indian students abroad through voluntary registrations. Indian missions/posts abroad also liaise with the appropriate authorities in the host governments to secure data on the number of Indian students studying abroad,” the minister said in his reply.

In response to another question, Singh said the Indian government is making continuous efforts to “increase” the number of countries that can provide visa-free entry and visa-on-arrival facilities to Indian citizens to facilitate their travel across the world.