Spending abroad by Indians falls to two-year low as foreign education outgo plummets

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 08:36:00 +0000

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| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The amount of money sent or spent abroad by Indians fell to a two-year low of $1.94 billion in November 2025, pulled down in large part by a sharp dip in the amount spent on foreign studies, which fell to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic-impacted month of April 2020.

Analysis of data on the outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS), shows that the other driver of the fall in overall remittances in November 2025 was a fall in the amount spent on foreign travel.

Total outward remittances under the LRS stood at $1.94 billion in November 2025, down 0.5% from its level in November last year. This is the lowest it has been since November 2023.

Within this, however, the amount spent on studies abroad fell to $120.9 million in November 2025, which is 30% lower than in the same month of 2024.

The amount spent on foreign travel fell to $1.1 billion in November 2025, down 1.1% from November 2024.

“Outward remittances have shown a clear divergence in trend this year,” Pavan Kavad, managing director of Prithvi Exchange, a BSE-listed and Fortune 500 foreign exchange dealer, told The Hindu. “Global uncertainty caused by geopolitical tensions and tighter policy conditions in key destination markets, has weighed on outward remittances, particularly those linked to education.”

“A visible slowdown in student enrolments and education-related spending across markets such as the U.S., UK, and Canada has translated into softer remittance flows, as families adopt a more cautious approach amid rising costs, visa uncertainties, and delayed intake cycles,” Mr. Kavad added.

Also Read | Studying abroad in uncertain times

Looking at a longer time-period, the data shows that outward remittances during the April-November 2025 period stood at $19.1 billion, down 4.3% from the same period of 2024.

Within this, spending on foreign studies was down 22.5% and on travel by nearly 6%.

Mr. Kavad further urged the government to waive the tax collected at source (TCS) completely on education remittances, irrespective of whether a loan is availed, saying that the current 5% rate places an unnecessary upfront financial burden on students and families.

“A full waiver would make global education more accessible and ease liquidity pressures at the start of their academic journey,” he explained.

Published – January 22, 2026 02:06 pm IST

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Despite war clouds, Indian students make up largest share of foreign students in Israel

admin — Mon, 20 May 2024 04:32:51 +0000

Data compiled by Israeli authorities after the COVID-19 outbreak put the number of Indian students enrolled in Israeli universities at 1,691 during academic year 2021–22. Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi
| Photo Credit: Satheesh Vellinezhi

Amid the clouds of war over West Asia, Israel is one of the favourite destinations for Indian students to pursue higher studies.

The Ministry of External Affairs had estimated the number of Indian students in Israel at 1,218 in 2022. However, data compiled by Israeli authorities after the COVID-19 outbreak put the number of students enrolled in Israeli universities at 1,691 during academic year 2021–22.

13.24 lakh in 2022

The official Israeli data reveal that Indian students make up the biggest share in the foreign students category, surpassing China, which stands second with 842 students. India had officially estimated the number of students abroad at 13.24 lakh in 2022.

According to Bureau of Immigration statistics, the number of Indian students who went abroad was 7.5 lakh in 2022 and 4.44 lakh in 2021.

According to Tammy Ben-Haim, Consul General of Israel to South India, the good academic cooperation between Indian and Israeli scientists and the willingness of both countries to foster academic exchange and research collaboration play a pivotal role in attracting Indian students to Israel.

“We have an Israeli Professor coming to teach at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) this July. We are in talks to have a centre of excellence on water with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M). An Israeli delegation will be visiting IIT-M in August to attend a seminar, and many Israeli companies have expressed interest in the programme,” says the source.

Post-doctoral studies

A good number of students who study at institutes and universities in Israel are pursuing doctoral and post-doctoral studies. In 2022, 47.9% of foreign post-doctoral fellows in Israel were from India, while those from China were only 9.6%.

The academic collaboration between India and Israel, initiatives such as promoting academic exchange through joint research programmes, scholarships, faculty or student exchange programmes, etc., is one of the reasons for the high number of Indian students in Israel, says K. Harikrishnan Namboothiri, former Chief Executive Officer, NoRKA Roots.

“Further, the data on the number of students enrolled in varsities in Israel maintained by Israel are more realistic, as Indian agencies have limitations in tracking the data of students migrating to Israel through transit countries and other modes of migration,” says Mr. Namboothiri.

Israel is more famous for its water management programmes and innovative agriculture practises among the scholars from the country, says P. Indira Devi, former director of Extension, Kerala Agriculture University.

There had been a few academic exchange programmes between Israel and India based on these subjects, says Ms. Devi.

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