There is a growing trend among young Indians to explore opportunities abroad. The decision to move abroad is often due to ambition, career goals, and the desire for better opportunities.
Recently, Indian investor Basant Maheshwari shared his thoughts on this growing trend through a tweet. He wrote, “If you are young, ambitious and not so rich – try to settle abroad.”
The number of Indian students choosing to study abroad has skyrocketed in recent years.
According to data released by Ministry of External Affairs, the number of Indian students studying abroad has reached 1.8 million in 2025. This marks a significant jump from 1.3 million in 2023, showcasing the growing desire among young Indians to pursue higher education outside the country.
Top destinations for Indian students
While Canada and the UK have traditionally been popular choices for Indian students, there has been a slight dip in the number of enrolments in these countries.
In 2024, Canada had 137,608 Indian students, and the UK recorded 98,890 students. United States has seen a notable increase in the number of Indian students.
In 2024, the US saw 331,602 Indian students, which is a 23% increase from the previous year. This surge in numbers has made India the largest source of international students in the US, surpassing China.
Germany and Ireland have also emerged as popular destinations for Indian students. In 2023-2024, Germany hosted around 49,483 Indian students, while over 7,000 Indian students studied in Australia during the winter semester of 2023-2024.
Maheshwari’s criticism against India
Maheshwari is quite known for expressing his views on various issues, including the cost of living in India. In a tweet from April, he criticised the high costs of vacations in India.
He wrote, “If you can ignore the airfare, a holiday in India costs almost as much as one in a foreign country. Hotel rates in India are a scam!”
‘India is the place to be’
Netizens commented on his post with varying opinions. A user noted, “I beg to differ If you’re young and ambitious – India is the place to be If you’re smart, you’ll shift to a tier 2 or tier 3 town with low pollution & low expenses and learn AI tools and sell services in the West sitting on your laptop.”
Another claimed, “Location matters, but mindset matters more.” “Face racism, get pink slips, have debt beyond your nose, face homelessness every recession, face cost of living crisis, when you get fed up – return back,” stated a user.
“From an individual perspective, to each it’s own, from a national perspective – never. I encourage people to choose the latter. No doubt it’ll be difficul but today’s sacrifice is the trade-off for future good,” claimed a netizen.
“If your plant isn’t growing, you don’t blame the plant. You change the pot. Going abroad is that new pot,” opined a user.
