Indian students to US pay double the amount of US FDI into country

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Indian students studying in the US have spent nearly double the amount India received in the form of FDI inflows from US companies.

According to a Financial Express report Tuesday, Indian students paid an estimated $3.6 billion to various US educational institutions in FY-15, or twice the $1.8 billion invested by US firms in India in the same period. In FY14, Indian students shelled out $3.3 billion to US colleges against a meagre $0.8 billion in US FDI into India.

The Open Doors 2015 report, compiled by the Institute of International Education, reveals that 1,02,673 Indian students were studying in various US colleges in 2013-14. The corresponding figure for 2014-15 stood at 1,32,888 Indian students, a 29.4% increase over the previous year, and accounting for 13.6% of the total number of international students there. India ranks second behind China in the number of students it sends to the US every year. However, according to the Financial Express the Open doors report says: “While China remains the top country of origin of international students in the US, increasing by 11% to 304,040, India’s growth outpaced China’s this year....”

Even as the number of Indian students going to America increased, the US was stuck in 5^th place in the list of sources of FDI for India in FY15. Mauritius, Singapore, Japan and even the Netherlands invested more in India through the direct route over the same period.