Weakening rupee hurts Indian students seeking foreign edu

Pune: Karan Bhide, who recently secured an admission at a university in New York, is feeling a price pinch even before flying off to the US, with the rupee depreciating to 83.16 against the US dollar on Friday, shooting up his living and studying cost on the foreign land.“I was supposed to go overseas for my course last year itself, but I decided to take a gap year instead. I would have saved on money if I had gone last year,” Karan said.With about 8% depreciation in the Indian currency against the US dollar over the last one year, parents are also finding it difficult to budget expenses over the three- or four-year course duration. “We had budgeted studying and living expenses to be about Rs 75 lakh for our daughter’s medical studies in the US. But everything changes now [with rupee declining against the US dollar]. We will have to re-calculate the expenses,” Baner resident Bijal Karnad said.The rupee to US dollar exchange rate stood at 79.68 around the same period last year. The fall in the rupee value might be burdening the parents financially, but the hasn’t stopped Indian students from pursuing their education abroad.Confirming, Dilip Oak, founder-director of Dilip Oak’s Academy, said, “People are taking a calculated risk in hope of recovering these expenses once students secure jobs.”The US continues to be a preferred location for education across courses, while Germany the favourite for specialised courses, education experts said. “Students and parents have raised issues regarding budgets owing to the depreciating Indian currency. Many students are opting for loans, while some are also facing forex issues,” Ankita Pardeshi, MD, Western Academy, said.Academies are in the process of conducting sessions with financial experts to help parents and students understand the finance options available to them.The rupee slide is also affecting travellers planning international trips. “We had bought tickets for our US trips months in advance. Now, however, we have no option but to travel. But we will be mindful in our spending as we don’t know which way the currency will swing,” Kondhwa resident Rohan Vora said.Foreign exchange agents said forex cards are seeing many takers. “People are aware that the rates are going to be high for some time, so they buy as planned. We are issuing a lot more forex cards these days,” Harsh Parekh, owner of Camp Forex, said.
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