From Our Correspondent
Desk: Andhra Pradesh continues to lead the country in the number of students pursuing higher education abroad, according to a NITI Aayog report released on Monday. The report, titled Internationalisation of Higher Education in India, highlights Andhra Pradesh’s sustained dominance despite pandemic-related disruptions.
The number of students from Andhra Pradesh studying overseas rose from 46,818 in 2016 to 62,771 by 2018. Although the figure dipped sharply to 35,614 in 2020 due to Covid-19, the state has retained the top position among Indian states sending students abroad, the report noted.
Punjab ranks second, followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. Significantly, Telangana does not feature in the top 10 states, despite Hyderabad being home to a large concentration of universities, professional colleges and private higher education institutions. This contrast underscores a gap between institutional presence and outbound student mobility from the state.
As per 2024 estimates, around 13.35 lakh Indian students are currently studying abroad. Of these, nearly 8.5 lakh are enrolled in just four countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia—reflecting a strong preference for English-speaking destinations.
The report states that Indian students studying overseas recorded an overall growth of 8.84 per cent between 2016 and 2024. It also underlines the economic dimension of this trend. Indian students collectively spend about ₹6.2 lakh crore annually on foreign education, an amount equivalent to nearly 2 per cent of India’s GDP.
NITI Aayog noted that the growing international mobility of Indian students presents both challenges and opportunities, stressing the need for policy interventions to strengthen domestic higher education while also leveraging global exposure for skill development and knowledge transfer.
The findings once again place Andhra Pradesh at the forefront of India’s overseas education footprint, while raising questions about Telangana’s relatively low representation despite its strong higher education ecosystem.