India’s map of foreign-student inflows is shifting faster than policymakers care to admit. A new NITI Aayog working paper shows that Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are rapidly emerging as the country’s strongest magnets for international students, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, once the pillars of India’s inbound ecosystem, are watching their dominance crumble.
Karnataka’s slump is the clearest measure of this churn. In 2012-13, the state enrolled 13,182 foreign students. By 2021–22, that number had collapsed to 5,954, a staggering 55 per cent fall for what was once India’s default destination for engineering and management aspirants. Tamil Nadu has also lost ground, slipping from 4,323 foreign students to 3,866. Telangana and West Bengal, once steady contributors, have faded from the top ranks altogether. The NITI paper flags the obvious drivers: congested metros, rising living costs, intensifying competition among institutions and a marked pivot by foreign students towards cheaper, less saturated education hubs.
The surprise winners are states that barely featured on the inbound map a decade ago. Punjab has delivered the most dramatic turnaround. The state has quadrupled its foreign-student enrolment, from 1,397 in 2012-13 to 5,847 in 2021-22, powered by a surge of private universities pitching aggressively to African and South Asian markets. English-friendly campuses, quicker admissions and lower living costs have made Punjab particularly attractive to students from Nepal, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Uttar Pradesh’s rise has been quieter but no less decisive. With 4,231 foreign students in 2021-22, UP has now overtaken Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Private university clusters in Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow have expanded rapidly, offering engineering, business, pharmacy and IT degrees at costs far lower than those in the major southern metros. Improved air connectivity and the pull of the NCR have strengthened the shift.
Gujarat has built its surge on branding and institutional expansion. From 555 foreign students in 2012-13, the state’s enrolment climbed to 3,422 in 2021-22. A government-backed “Study in Gujarat” campaign, the global visibility of GIFT City and the rise of internationally aligned private universities have helped the state attract students from across Africa and the Gulf. Its long-standing commercial ties with African nations have become a distinct recruitment advantage.
Andhra Pradesh, largely absent from the inbound conversation since bifurcation, has re-entered the top tier with 3,106 foreign students. With lower tuition fees, reputable engineering colleges and targeted outreach to Bangladesh, Nepal and East Africa, the state has steadily positioned itself as a cheaper and less intimidating alternative to the major southern metros.
Delhi and Maharashtra remain major players with 2,727 and 4,818 foreign students, respectively but both are stagnating. High living costs and limited expansion in top-tier institutions mean neighbouring states with lower fees and faster admissions are pulling ahead.
The shifting map also reveals who is choosing India. Nepal remains the largest source country, but African students, particularly from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, are rising sharply. Growing numbers of students from Bangladesh and the UAE are looking to India for English-medium engineering, business, pharmacy and IT degrees. Many explicitly favour safer, smaller cities with lower living costs, a trend that benefits states investing in purpose-built private universities and international-student offices.
Despite these state-level gains, the national picture remains anaemic. India hosted just 46,878 foreign students in 2021-22, representing barely 0.10% of the total enrollment. The NITI paper bluntly classifies India as a “semi-peripheral” host. Outbound mobility dwarfs inbound numbers, locking the country into a widening talent and foreign-exchange imbalance.
A few states may be rising, but India still lacks what the numbers make unavoidable: a coherent, national strategy to attract the world’s students.
