215% rise in students taking education loans to study abroad since 2012; Finance ministry

NEW DELHI: Over the last ten years, the number of students availing education loans to study abroad has increased 215%, shows data from 2012-13, shared by Bhagwat Karad, minister of state for finance with the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Around 4.61 lakh students availed educational loans for studying abroad from 2012 to 2022; of them, 9.18% took loans to study medicine, Karad informed parliament. The number of borrowers trebled over the same period, from 22,200 in 2012-13 to 69,898 in 2021-22. The growth was steady until covid-19 struck in 2020-21.

Number of Students availed loans for studying abroad

Study abroad loan amounts

According to the data shared in parliament, student loans worth Rs 39,268.82 crore – close to India’s entire higher education budget of Rs 40,828.35 crore for 2022-23 – were disbursed in the last 10 years. Of this, Rs 1,790.16 crore worth of loans were disbursed for studying medicine abroad.

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While the amount of loans disbursed has been increasing, the maximum amount in 2021-22. Even the loans for study abroad medical education has risen from Rs 51.86 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 289,82 crore in 2021-22 – an increase of 459% over a decade. The upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine drew fresh attention to the phenomenon of Indian students heading abroad to study medicine. Hundreds had their medical studies interrupted and returned without completing and in debt.

Total loans disbursed to study abroad (In Rs crore)

The government streamlined the process of applying for education loans by starting the Vidya Lakshmi portal (vidyalakshmi.co.in) in 2015. It collates all information on student loans and serves as a single-window system for application and tracking.