&w=3840&q=100)
Foreign education costs for Indian families may double to $91 bn by 2030
The report by Wise and Redseer Strategy Consultants reveals that approximately $11 billion of the total spending in 2024 came from money transferred directly from India. Over 95 per cent of these remittances were sent via conventional banks, which charge a 3-3.5 per cent markup on exchange rates.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been working to reduce the cost of international transfers. According to the World Bank data, the average global cost of sending remittances stood at 6.62 per cent in July-September 2024, The Indian Express reported.
Multiple intermediaries involved in international payments drive up both costs and delays. These challenges have prompted central banks, including the RBI, to explore digital currencies and promote instant payment linkages like India's UPI. This week, the National Payments Corporation of India expanded the UPI-Singapore PayNow system by adding 13 more Indian banks, increasing the total to 19.
Drop in outflows for education
Recent RBI data shows a decline in money sent abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). In April 2025, remittances for overseas education fell 21 per cent year-on-year to $164 million. For the first four months of 2025, the total dropped to $874 million, marking the ninth straight month of decline.
Under LRS, Indians are allowed to remit up to $250,000 annually for various purposes, including education, travel, and investment.
Rise in student numbers despite visa hurdles
Despite these trends, the number of Indian students abroad is projected to cross 2.5 million by 2030. In 2024, Indians represented nearly one-third of all international students in countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia — a sharp rise from 11 per cent a decade ago, the Inews report said.
While these traditional destinations remain popular, tighter visa and admission policies are pushing students to consider new countries. For instance, Canada raised the required proof of living expenses, and Australia increased the minimum IELTS scores.
As restrictions rise in traditional hubs, countries like Germany, Ireland, and New Zealand are emerging as attractive options. These nations offer simplified visa processes, better post-study work options, and more relaxed residency rules.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
7 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Steady as she goes': How the economy looks and feels
India's economy is performing well as it enters the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. Domestic supply and demand are strong. Inflation is within the target range. The monsoon season is progressing as expected. The Finance Ministry expresses cautious optimism. India's macroeconomic fundamentals are resilient despite global challenges. Experts project GDP growth between 6.2 and 6.5 percent. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's economy enters the second quarter of FY26 on a relatively firm footing, as the first quarter of FY26 presents a picture of resilient domestic supply and demand fundamentals with inflation remaining within the target range and monsoon progress on track, said a Finance Ministry report on economy has the look and feel of 'steady as she goes' as far as FY26 is concerned, the Finance Ministry's Monthly Economic Review for June said, even though it pointed out downside risks."The Indian economy in mid-2025 presents a picture of cautious optimism," the review said. "Despite global headwinds marked by trade tensions, geopolitical volatility, and external uncertainties, India's macroeconomic fundamentals have remained resilient. Aided by robust domestic demand, fiscal prudence and monetary support, India appears poised to continue as one of the fastest-growing major economies, with various forecasters, including S&P, ICRA , and the RBI's Survey of Professional Forecasters, projecting GDP growth rates for FY26 in the range of 6.2 per cent and 6.5 per cent."In the review for the previous month of May, the ministry had said India's broader economic health is in a "relative goldilocks situation", with no major imbalances in the macro aggregates, a subdued inflation rate, and a growth-supportive monetary policy stance. These could be "nervous but exciting times" for the Indian economy, it said. Geopolitical shifts may present India with opportunities that appeared remote earlier. But it's "up to us to be flexible enough to ride the tide".The Finance Ministry report indicates room for further rate cuts for the RBI. "Core inflation remains subdued, and overall inflation is comfortably below the RBI's 4 per cent target, affording room for the easing cycle to be sustained," it said."The Reserve Bank of India has projected headline inflation at 3.4 per cent for the Q2 of FY26, while in Q1, actual inflation came below the Q1 target of the RBI. It appears likely that the full fiscal year inflation rate would undershoot the central bank's expectation of 3.7 per cent. Also, global crude oil prices are expected to remain subdued, following a larger-than-anticipated production hike by OPEC and its allies, who raised output by 548,000 barrels per day in August, on top of the production increases announced for the previous months," the monthly review February, the RBI has lowered the repo rate by 100 basis points, or a percentage point, to 5.5%. It has also announced lowering cash reserve ratio by 100 bps in a phased manner beginning September 2025, which is estimated to release Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the banking system. When the central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting from August 4 to 6, it is expected to deliberate on the policy repo rate using two key data points: the June quarter GDP projections and the latest retail inflation are divided on the trajectory of interest rate cuts, ET has reported today. While some cite six-year low inflation as grounds for another rate cut in the upcoming August policy, the majority advocate for maintaining the status quo. Those calling for a pause argue that it is prudent to wait and assess inflation trends in the coming quarter and monitor developments around the US trade deal. ET reported that economists shared these perspectives with the Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra, deputy governor Poonam Gupta and her team during customary pre-policy consultative meetings held last week.A global slowdown could further dampen demand for Indian exports and continued uncertainty on US tariffs may weigh on the country's trade performance in coming quarters, the finance ministry review said. India's goods exports fell to $35.14 billion in June, down 9% from May, and remained nearly flat from a year earlier. The figure was the lowest since November's $32.11 billion, according to LSEG monthly review has also underlined slow credit growth and private investment as risks to growth. "Despite monetary easing and a strong bank balance sheet, credit growth has slowed, reflecting cautious borrower sentiment and possibly risk-averse lender behaviour," it said. However, the trend can also be explained by a growing preference for bond markets, particularly commercial papers among corporates due to lower borrowing costs, it added."Despite the broadly positive outlook, downside risks remain," the review said. "While geopolitical tensions have not elevated further, the global slowdown, particularly in the US (which shrank by 0.5 per cent in Q1 2025), could dampen further demand for Indian exports. Continued uncertainty on the US tariff front may weigh on India's trade performance in the coming quarters. Slow credit growth and private investment appetite may restrict acceleration in economic momentum. Further, given the deflationary trend in the wholesale price index, one has to observe economic momentum in nominal quantities. Measured in constant prices, economic activity may appear healthier than it is."
The Hindu
7 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Unclaimed deposits with banks stand at ₹67,003 crore
Unclaimed deposits with banks, including private lenders, stood at ₹67,003 crore at the end of June 2025, Parliament was informed on Monday (July 28, 2025). As of June 30, 2025, public sector banks were saddled with unclaimed deposits of ₹58,330.26 crore while private sector had ₹8,673.72 crore, as per the Reserve Bank of India. Of the public sector banks, SBI is leading the pack with unclaimed deposits of ₹19,329.92 crore, followed by Punjab National Bank ₹6,910.67 crore and Canara Bank ₹6,278.14 crore, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Among the private sector banks, ICICI Bank has the highest unclaimed deposits of ₹2,063.45 crore, followed by HDFC Bank ₹1,609.56 crore and Axis Bank ₹1,360.16 crore, he said. To enhance accessibility and simplify the search process for unclaimed deposits, RBI has launched the Centralised Web Portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits- Gateway to Access Information) for the public. 'As of July 1, 2025, 8,59,683 users registered and accessed the UDGAM portal. The said portal facilitates the registered users to search unclaimed deposits/amounts across multiple banks at one place in a centralised manner,' he said. With regard to utilisation of unclaimed fund, RBI has stated that as per the provisions of The Depositor Education and Awareness Fund Scheme (Scheme), 2014, there shall be a committee to administer and manage the fund in accordance with the scheme, the minister said. The fund shall be utilised for promotion of depositors' interest and for such other purposes which may be necessary for promotion of depositors' interest, as specified by RBI. Replying to another question, Mr. Chaudhary said the government has no plans to launch Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs) for respective Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) in order to integrate them into mainstream financial market. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued advisories warning users, holders, and traders of virtual currencies or crypto assets about the potential risks, including economic, financial, operational, legal, and security concerns, he said. Further, he said, 'RBI vide its circular dated May 31, 2021, has also advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes for transactions in VCs, in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT), obligations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, etc.' As on March 31, 2025, the total number of women enrolled as Bima Sakhi is 1,48,888 out of which nearly 15% i.e. 13,528 and 8,964 pertain to Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively, he said in reply to another question. Further, he said, all Bima Sakhi agents go through training within 3 months of their appointment as per the provisions of the scheme. As on March 31, 2025, he said, 60.13% of total premium collected by Bima Sakhis, is from rural areas. Further, at present nearly 25% of panchayats have minimum one Bima Sakhi agent, indicating their outreach in rural areas, he said. Bima Sakhi Yojana, being an initiative of LIC, is being promoted throughout the country by LIC's various branches and divisional offices, traditional and digital media and by pitching in public forums.
Economic Times
7 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Indian economy has look and feel of 'steady as she goes' for FY26: Finance ministry
ANI Representational image Indian economy has the look and feel of "steady as she goes" for the current fiscal, the finance ministry said on Monday even as it flagged slowing credit growth. In its monthly economic review, the ministry said the first quarter of fiscal 2025-26 (FY26) presents a picture of resilient domestic supply and demand fundamentals. With inflation remaining within the target range and monsoon progress on track, the domestic economy enters the second quarter of FY26 on a relatively firm footing. While geopolitical tensions have not elevated further, the global slowdown, particularly in the US (which shrank by 0.5 per cent in Q1 2025), could dampen further demand for Indian exports. "Continued uncertainty on the US tariff front may weigh on India's trade performance in the coming quarters. Slow credit growth and private investment appetite may restrict acceleration in economic momentum," it said. Further, given the deflationary trend in the wholesale price index, one has to observe economic momentum in nominal quantities. Measured in constant prices, economic activity may appear healthier than it is, the review report said. "All that said, the economy has the look and feel of 'steady as she goes' as far as FY26 is concerned," it said. The report noted despite monetary easing and a strong bank balance sheet, credit growth has slowed, reflecting cautious borrower sentiment and possibly risk-averse lender behaviour. "A growing preference for bond markets, particularly commercial papers among corporates due to lower borrowing costs, may also explain the shift," it said. Piggybacking on initiatives like the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme, the ministry said it is time for corporates to set the ball in motion. The Reserve Bank has cumulatively reduced the short-term lending rate (repo) by 100 basis points since February. With an outlay of Rs 99,446 crore, the ELI scheme aims to incentivise the creation of more than 3.5 crore jobs in the country over a period of 2 years, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The report said that despite global headwinds marked by trade tensions, geopolitical volatility, and external uncertainties, India's macroeconomic fundamentals have remained resilient. Aided by robust domestic demand, fiscal prudence and monetary support, India appears poised to continue as one of the fastest-growing major economies, with various forecasters, including S&P, ICRA, and the RBI's Survey of Professional Forecasters, projecting GDP growth rates for FY26 in the range of 6.2 per cent and 6.5 per cent, it said. The report said high-frequency indicators reflected broad-based strength, registering strong year-on-year growth. While the manufacturing and construction sectors continued to expand, the services sector anchored the overall economic growth in Q1 of FY26. As of now, favourable progress in the southwest monsoon has bolstered agricultural activity, leading to higher kharif sowing compared to the previous year. Adequate fertiliser availability and comfortable reservoir levels augur well for a healthy harvest outlook, providing fresh impetus to rural incomes and consumption, the ministry said.
