Parliament Question: Migration of Skilled Students and Professionals

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2421 ANSWERED ON 03/08/2026 Migration of Skilled Students and Professionals 2421. Shri Deepender Singh Hooda: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: a) the total number of highly skilled students and professionals who have left India for education and employment abroad since 2014 till the current year, year-wise; b) the major reasons identified for this continued outward migration of talent; c) the steps taken by the Government since 2014 to address this issue, including measures for talent retention, return of skilled professionals and strengthening domestic opportunities; d) whether this large-scale outflow has caused any economic, academic or research-related loss to the nation and if so, the details thereof; and e) whether the Government has formulated any time-bound roadmap with clear targets to curb this trend, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (e): As per the data of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and its implementing agency, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), facilitates skill development and employment opportunities for blue-collared workers such as construction workers, nurses, and care givers. The details of candidates deployed overseas through G2G arrangements are as under: Japan: 3097 (2018-19 to 2026-27) Israel: 6891 (2024-25 to 2026-27) Mauritius: 28 (2026-27) As per information provided by Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Ministry of Home Affairs the number of Indians who disclosed their purpose of visit as STUDY/EDUCATION while going abroad from 2023 to 2025 is as under: Year 2023 2024 2025 Number of students 908364 770127 626606The number of Indian students travelling overseas for higher education has fallen steadily over the past three years. Education and employment abroad are a matter of individual will and choice, which is contingent on a variety of factors, including affordability, access to bank loans, exposure to foreign societies, aptitude for particular branch of studies. To strengthen the quality of higher education, institutions are encouraged to obtain accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), and reforms are being undertaken to expand accreditation coverage and strengthen the accreditation ecosystem. NAAC evaluates institutions on various parameters including teaching-learning, research, infrastructure, governance and institutional best practices, and awards accreditation grades based on their performance. The accreditation process promotes quality assurance, accountability, research and innovation and serves as an important benchmark for institutional excellence and continuous improvement in higher education. To boost research and innovation, the Government has established the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), which seeks to harness the research potential of universities and colleges, support academic research, and facilitate translational research in emerging technologies and national priority areas. The ANRF aims to mobilize ₹50,000 crore during 2023–28, including ₹14,000 crore from the Central Government, with the remaining sourced from public sector enterprises, the private sector, philanthropies and international bodies, through various funds such as the ANRF Fund, Innovation Fund, and Science and Engineering Research Fund. Other initiatives such as the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), IMPRINT, Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) and Institutions of Eminence (IoE) continue to enhance research capacity, innovation and collaboration between academia, industry and international institutions. Focus of NEP on research and innovation has propelled India’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) from 48 in 2020 and currently being ranked at 38th place in 2025. The Ministry of Education has launched the Prime Minister Research Chair (PMRC) Scheme to attract and engage distinguished Indian-origin researchers, scientists and professionals with international research experience, to strengthen India's higher education and research ecosystem through high-impact research, mentorship and institutional capacity-building across thirteen national priority thematic areas. The Scheme provides for fellowships under three categories, namely Research Chair, Senior Fellow and Young Research Fellow. Further, to give impetus to Indian innovators and startups, particularly in the DeepTech, Bharat Innovates was initiated by the Government of India. It is aimed to internationalise India's higher education and research-led innovation ecosystem by bringing DeepTech startups emerging from Higher Education Institutions, research laboratories, incubators and research parks into direct contact with global investors, corporations, universities and research institutions. The first Bharat Innovates DeepTech exposition was held from 14–16 June 2026 in Nice, France. The exposition was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister of India and President of France. It saw participation of 120 Indian DeepTech startups covering 13 themes, 15 leading Indianhigher education institutions and investors, industry leaders, innovators and academic community from 29 countries. The Government has taken several measures to promote multidisciplinary and flexible higher education in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has notified the Guidelines for Multiple Entry and Exit in Academic Programmes offered in Higher Education Institutions, facilitating flexible learning pathways and academic mobility through the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). The Government is also implementing the Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERITE) Scheme to strengthen research infrastructure and promote innovation and interdisciplinary research in Higher Educational Institutions.): The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 envisages integration of skill development and vocational education with mainstream higher education to enhance employability, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning. UGC has notified the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF), aligned with the National Credit Framework (NCrF), to enable integration of general, vocational and experiential learning. The National Credit Framework facilitates credit accumulation and transfer across academic, vocational and skill education, while the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) supports seamless academic mobility. UGC has also issued Guidelines for Internship/Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programmes (IEDP), enabling undergraduate students to acquire industry-relevant skills through structured internships and apprenticeships integrated with their degree programmes. AICTE is actively strengthening skill development by embedding it into technical education. It partners with industries and institutions to offer online skill courses aligned with the regular curriculum, along with skill-focused programmes, compulsory internships, and vocational degrees such as Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc). These initiatives are designed to build students’ practical abilities and improve employability. Additionally, AICTE has signed MoUs with leading industries and organisations to support internships, skill-building, and faculty upskilling, including hands-on exposure to Industry 4.0 technologies. Employability Skill module has been included as a part of Job Roles/SWAYAM courses in the curriculum which includes Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Information and Communication Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills, and Green Skills. To support skill development, the SWAYAM Plus portal has also been launched, focusing on upskilling and reskilling the workforce. More than 500 courses have been developed curated from 89 industry partners across 17 sectors and offered on emerging areas such as AI, Data Analyst etc. So far, more than 6,00,000 students registered on the platform. The National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) bridges the gap between academic learning and industry requirements by providing structured on-the-job training to graduates and diploma holders. The Scheme promotes industry-integrated education through Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programmes (AEDP), supports apprenticeships in emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and facilitates academic credit integration through the NATS Assessment and Creditisation Framework. During the last five financial years, over 17 lakh apprentices have been engaged under the Scheme. The NATS 2.0 Portal, launched on 30.07.2024, has further strengthened the apprenticeship ecosystem by enabling participation of over 11,355 Higher Education Institutions and more than 15,840 establishments,The Government has enabled the setting up of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions (FHEIs) in India. 16 Letters of Intent have been issued to FHEIs from Australia, Italy, United Kingdom and USA to set up their campuses at various places in India. Among these, University of Southampton, UK commenced its courses in August, 2025 at its campus in Gurugram, Haryana. Under International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Regulations 2022, approvals have been accorded to 5 universities from UK, Australia and Northern Ireland for operating offshore branch campuses in GIFT City SEZ, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Among these 5 universities, Deakin University, Australia commenced its courses in July, 2024, and University of Wollongong, Australia commenced its courses in November, 2024. UGC has also issued “UGC (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2021”, which allows students to do parts of their programmes from both Indian and foreign universities leading to academic and research excellence *****