Over the last decade, Indians remitted ₹1.76 lakh crore overseas to fund students’ studies abroad. This revealed amount to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is enough to build about 62 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at 2025 costs. Since 2014, the money outflow has increased by around ₹29,000 crore, which was sent abroad for education in 2023-2024 alone.
The condition of India’s higher education system and the reasons why so many families choose international degrees over domestic ones are urgently called into question by this trend.
10-Year Surge in Remittances
A decade ago, in 2014–15, education-related remittances were just ₹2,429 crore — the lowest in the last 10 years. The figure peaked in 2022–23 at ₹29,171 crore before dipping slightly last year.
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Over this period, the total outflow reached ₹1.76 lakh crore. The RBI’s data, converted from US dollars at current exchange rates, shows how the desire for foreign education has grown far beyond inflation or currency changes.
Comparing With Government’s Education Budget
To put these numbers in perspective, the Union government’s allocation to the Department of Higher Education in 2025–26 is ₹50,077.95 crore. This is just one-third of what Indians have spent abroad in a decade. Even last year’s single-year remittance of ₹29,000 crore rivals more than half the department’s annual budget.
Fewer Students, More Spending
Interestingly, 2024 saw a 15% drop in the number of Indians going abroad for studies. According to the Bureau of Immigration, 7,59,064 students travelled overseas in 2024 compared to 8,92,989 in 2023. Yet, spending stayed high. The current figure still surpasses the pre-pandemic 2019 level of 5,86,337.
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Missing Data & Hidden Costs
The RBI admitted it has no data on the share of banks versus fintech firms in processing education remittances or on the hidden charges families pay.
Nor has it studied the financial impact of such fees. However, transaction volumes tell their own story. Since 2018–19, the number of education remittance transactions has risen from 3.63 lakh to nearly 10 lakh in 2022–23, before settling at 9.43 lakh last year.
Why Not Invest at Home?
These figures force a bigger question — if India invested even a fraction of this outflow into domestic universities, could we match global standards? A 2014 report pegged the cost of building an IIT at ₹1,750 crore, rising to ₹2,823 crore in 2025 with inflation.
The money sent abroad over the decade could have built 62 IITs, potentially changing India’s higher education landscape forever. Until India offers quality, research, and global recognition in its institutions, the money will keep flowing out — and so will talent.
