Released by the Ministry of Education, the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) survey shows international student enrolment increased from 48,898 in 2019/20 to 58,134 in 2023/24.
The figures come as India continues efforts to internationalise its higher education sector through the Study in India initiative, launched in 2018, alongside reforms under the National Education Policy 2020 aimed at strengthening global partnerships, expanding cross-border collaboration and encouraging greater internationalisation across the sector.
Dr. Rahul Choudaha was quoted in The PIE News article
This is steady but slow progress toward a finish line that has itself moved. The government’s original Study in India initiative had aimed to attract 200,000 international students by 2023. With just over 58,100 overseas students recorded in 2023/24 – only around three in 10 of the government’s original target achieved. Meeting its ambitions would require faster visa processing, clearer post-study work pathways and stronger institutional reputations.
Despite attracting students from a wide range of countries, India’s inbound student population remains concentrated among neighbouring and regional markets.
Nepal remained the largest source country, accounting for 24.1% of all international students enrolled in India. It was followed by the United Arab Emirates (7%), the United States (5.9%), Bangladesh (5.9%), Nigeria (5.5%) and Zimbabwe (4%), while the top 10 source countries together accounted for 63.8% of all international enrolment.
On the concentration of students from Nepal, Dr. Choudaha said
With one in four foreign students coming from Nepal, India is clearly still primarily a regional hub, not a global one. That’s not a poor grade or a bad position – it simply reflects India’s value proposition: proximity, shared culture, and affordability, rather than global education pull.
Comparing India with Malaysia, which hosts roughly three times as many international students and benefits from a more mature international branch campus ecosystem and stronger recruitment and support services.
Looking ahead, Choudaha said international branch campuses could strengthen India’s appeal as a study destination over time, although their impact was unlikely to be immediate.
International branch campuses could strengthen India’s appeal as a study destination over time, although their impact was unlikely to be immediate. There’s genuine appeal in earning a British, American, or Australian degree in India at nearly two-thirds of the home-campus cost. But tuition fees at these international campuses run nearly twice as high as at Tier-1 Indian universities. Beyond fees, the ecosystem around recruiting, supporting, and retaining international students — visas, housing, campus life, word-of-mouth — takes years to mature, and these campuses are just getting started. So the potential is real, but it’s a medium-term story: the runway is there, the plane hasn’t taken off yet.