Indians' spending on foreign education could double to $91 bn in 2030

Indian Express

6 hours ago

Indian families could end up spending $91 billion on foreign education for their children in 2030, up from $44 billion in 2024, with the money they lose due to exchange rate markups and fees charged by traditional banking players potentially approaching half a billion US dollars.
According to a report by global payments firm Wise and Redseer Strategy Consultants, released on Friday, around a quarter of the annual foreign education spending of Indians — amounting to roughly $11 billion in 2024 — is met through money transferred overseas from India, with the rest largely coming from earnings and financial support within the destination country. According to the report, more than 95 per cent of these remittances go through traditional banking channels, which charge a mark-up of 3-3.5 per cent on the exchange rate.
'A typical family sending Rs 30 lakh annually may lose Rs 60,000–75,000 to hidden markups, enough to cover several months of living expenses or fund additional courses. Across the 760,000 Indian students heading abroad, this amounts to a significant hit to their pocket,' Wise and Redseer said in a statement, adding that in 2024 these costs totalled $200 million, or Rs 1,700 crore, for Indian families.
The high cost of cross-border transfers has been a key focus area for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has in recent years highlighted the fees and time delays associated with them. According to the World Bank, the global average cost of sending remittances was 6.62 per cent of the amount in July-September 2024.
The cost of making international payments rises depending on the number of intermediaries, or correspondent banks, involved, with fees being charged and operational delays possible at every stage. These costs and delays have been a key driver of central banks exploring the use of their digital currencies to make cross-border transfers. The government and the RBI have pushed for the linking of national instant payment systems, with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) linked with Singapore's PayNow. Earlier this week, the National Payments Corporation of India enhanced the UPI-PayNow linkage by adding 13 more Indian banks — taking the total to 19 — whose customers can receive remittances from Singapore via UPI.
According to latest RBI data, the money sent abroad by Indian residents for overseas education under the central bank's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) fell 21 per cent year-on-year in April to $164 million. In fact, expenditure under the LRS for overseas studies was down 21 per cent for the first four months of 2025 at $874 million, with the fall in April being the ninth month in a row that money sent abroad for studies under the scheme was down on a year-on-year basis.
Under the LRS, the RBI permits residents to send up to $250,000 abroad every financial year for certain current and capital account transactions, including travel, studies, medical treatment, and investments in foreign stocks, among others. The continued fall in money sent abroad by Indians for studies comes amid uncertainty in the US, with the number of student visas issued to Indians in the first nine months of 2024 down 38 per cent year-on-year, The Indian Express had reported in December 2024.
However, according to the Wise-Redseer report, the number of Indian students studying abroad could cross 25 lakh in 2030. Indian students made up around a third of the international student population in key education hubs such as US, Canada, UK, and Australia in 2024, up from 11 per cent a decade ago, according to the report. 'Traditional destinations remain attractive while emerging hubs such as Germany, Ireland, the UAE, and Singapore gain traction due to affordable costs, and strong post-graduation employment opportunities,' it added.
To be sure, key destination countries such as the US, Canada, UK, and Australia have tightened visa and admission policies for international students, the Wise-Redseer report said. Canada, for instance, has more than doubled the minimum proof of living expenses in the last couple of years to 22,985 Canadian dollar starting September 1. In Australia, the report said, the required IELTS score — a measure of applicants' English proficiency — was last year increased by 0.5-1 points across several categories.
'Considering these challenges, alternative destinations like Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand are gaining traction. These countries offer benefits such as streamlined visa processes, enhanced post-study work opportunities, and relaxed residency policies,' the report said.
(1 Canadian dollar equals Rs 62.794 as recorded at 9:52 pm IST on July 18, 2025)