'THINK BEFORE SPENDING A SINGLE PENNY'

The declining value of the rupee and rising costs globally have put Indian students studying abroad, or planning to, in an exceptionally difficult position.

- Sanjay

When Somveer Singh Rawal, 27 and from Sonipat, Haryana, was looking for a certificate course in marketing in Canada in 2019, one Canadian dollar (CAD) was equivalent to Rs. 52.

"When I took admission in 2021, it was 58 INR and now it is more than INR 60," said Rawal who is enrolled in a postgraduate certificate course in marketing management at York University's Seneca College in Toronto, Canada. The course cost 15,000 CAD but its equivalent in rupees kept rising.

"It affected my studies as I had to pay more for the same course. It has become difficult for my parents to send money here and I have taken up a part-time job of 20 hours a week to meet my basic needs," he said.

Global inflation leading to increase in the cost of living and coupled with the downslide in the value of the rupee has placed Indian students studying abroad or planning to - in dilemma, or outright hardship.

It has become difficult even for those in relatively low-cost destinations where the value of the local currency is lower than the rupee.

Neeraj Rao, 30, from Mahendragarh, Haryana has been studying journalism and media management at KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. The fee for the four-year course is Rs. 22 lakh.

"There is a rule here that universities will raise fees every year by 10 percent. My expenditure has almost doubled. Grocery, accommodation, travel and other things have become expensive. Earlier, I got money from my parents. For the last one year, I have been doing freelance work," he said.

According to American think-tank, Pew Research Center, the annual inflation rate of the US in May was 8.6 percent, the highest since 1981. Data from 44 advanced economies shows that in nearly all of them, consumer prices have risen substantially since pre-pandemic times, the report said.