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Other than trade and exports, a falling rupee has a bearing on the tens of thousands of Indians studying abroad. While education loans balloon as fees go up in rupee terms, families based in India need to spend more on the dollars needed for students based in the US, Canada and the UK.
Over 7.6 lakh Indian students were pursuing higher studies abroad as of 2024, and a weaker rupee against the USD makes living overseas more expensive for them. (Image: Getty Images)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 3, 2025 11:16 IST
The rupee has hit an all-time low, falling below the 90-mark against the US dollar on Wednesday. A weaker rupee makes everything more expensive, from crude oil to electronics, even as exports become cheaper. But one of the most affected sectors is education abroad, and the hit it is often silent.
On Wednesday, the Indian rupee slipped past the 90 mark to trade at 90.12 in the morning. This slide of the rupee, one of the worst-performing currencies of 2025, hits Indian students abroad, silently. Indians studying in the US, the UK, Italy, Germany and Singapore told India Today Digital how the falling rupee is like a hidden fee hike that's never announced.
The living expenses and the annual tuition fees could rise by lakhs due to a falling rupee. Education loans also swell up considerably. According to the Indian Education Ministry's Bureau of Immigration data, over 7.6 lakh Indian students travelled abroad for higher studies as of 2024. There has been a rise in Indians studying abroad in recent years, barring the Covid year of 2020, when the numbers were around 2.6 lakh. In 2023, over 8.95 lakh Indians went abroad for studies.
Though there is no official data on what percentage of students belong to the middle class, industry reports and surveys indicate that a large segment of these students come from middle-class families, who often need to finance their programmes abroad with scholarships or other financial aid, or through education loans.
The weakening of the rupee against the US dollar not only strains students living on a shoestring budget abroad but also burdens families who must send them money for basic survival.
THE ECONOMICS OF WHY EDUCATION IN THE US, UK, CANADA GETS EXPENSIVE
Education in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia mainly becomes costlier for Indians as the rupee weakens because in economic terms, education abroad is treated as a service. Though it behaves like a globalised commodity, the purchase of education, in terms of admissions, visas, accommodation, consultancy, or even "experience", is treated as an exportable commercial service.
When the rupee weakens, Indians need to shell out more rupees to buy the same $1 worth of imports. Education abroad, hence, gets more expensive.
In the last eight months, the rupee has slid from around Rs 84 to Rs 90.12 against the dollar, which is nearly a 7% drop.
While Indian students in the US are affected the most, given the rupee weakens against the US dollar (USD), those studying in Canada, Australia, and the UK, where fees and living costs are billed in currencies closely tied to the USD, are also impacted to a great extent.
A weakening rupee usually makes studying in the Eurozone more expensive too. Only in tightly managed currencies like the Singapore dollar does the damage often remain limited.
HOW STUDENTS IN THE US GET AFFECTED BY A FALLING RUPEE
Sanjana M Kumar, a master's student in media studies at New York University, says the rupee drop has affected her daily budget. "My parents send me $1,500 a month, which covers my basics. When we planned last year, when a dollar was at around Rs 83.5, that was Rs 1,25,000. Now $1,500 costs almost Rs 10,000 more," Sanjana told India Today Digital.
"I have stopped going to cafes and have cut down on outings with friends because I had a dentist visit last month. Earlier, I could afford cabs once in a while (which are very expensive in New York), but now I walk a few blocks before I take a taxi. It saves me a few dollars. Luckily, my parents can afford to make me study in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but the little comforts are gone because of something I didn't expect," she says.
New York-based software engineer Abir Bhattacharjee, who did his master's from Arizona State University, explains, "Indian banks typically sanction education loans based on the initial tuition fee. However, for long-duration programmes, such as a four-year undergraduate course or a 5-year integrated undergrad-plus-grad programme, this approach can create challenges. Over several years, currency fluctuations and rupee depreciation significantly increase the effective cost of tuition, making financial planning difficult."
"When tuition fees range from $100,000 to $200,000 for the entire course, even minor changes in the USD-INR exchange rate can add up to tens of thousands of rupees. For example, if the rupee depreciates by Rs 5 per dollar over 4-5 years, a $20,000 semester fee could cost Rs 1 lakh more. This impact is amplified for longer-tenure degrees, as students pay fees multiple times across 8
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Published By:
Anand Singh
Published On:
Dec 3, 2025
