Envoy Declares Indian Students Among UK’s Brightest and Best

(UNITED KINGDOM) Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami told hundreds of new arrivals at a welcome reception in London that Indian students are not only the largest group of foreign students in the country but “among the brightest and the best,” underscoring their growing academic presence and economic impact across British campuses and towns. Speaking on Wednesday evening at an event held in association with King’s College London, he said the surge in Indian enrolments is reshaping both university classrooms and local economies from freshers’ week onwards.

“The Indian student community is the largest for the third year running, at 166,000 students across the UK… Our students are among the brightest and the best that we have, and your presence here is a reflection of all that you are capable of doing and the value that you bring to your studies, to your research… but you also add economic value, and it’s important to emphasise that your presence here supports businesses,” said Vikram Doraiswami, addressing a hall packed with new students who have just begun courses across Britain.

He framed the cohort’s arrival as part of a wider story of closer ties between the two countries, and a practical boost for universities and high streets that rely on student spending.

Organisers said the reception drew a large crowd and was live-streamed to Indian consulates around the UK, aligning with a recent student registration drive by the High Commission of India. Doraiswami used the occasion to underline how people-to-people links now sit at the centre of the relationship.

“It is of considerable value to us that the relationship between our two democracies is taken forward by the custodians of that democracy, that is, the young people who will inherit the running of our respective countries,” Doraiswami said.

For many of the newly arrived Indian students, the evening doubled as a practical onboarding session, with guidance on banking, safety and the National Health Service, alongside cultural performances and a comedy sketch by British-Indian comedian Ahir Shah.

The headline number stands out. There are 166,000 students from India currently enrolled in the UK, the largest international student group for the third consecutive year. In 2023/24, Indian enrolments reached 166,310, ahead of China’s 149,885. That shift reflects a dramatic change since 2017/18, when the numbers from India were far smaller; enrolments have increased more than tenfold in that period, propelled by demand for British degrees and a post-study work route that has proved especially attractive to Indian applicants. The Home Office granted 15,000 study visas to Indian students in the second quarter of 2025, with main applicant demand up 16% compared with the same quarter in 2024, indicating continued momentum into the current academic year.

University officials and education advisers say Indian students are clustering in courses the UK wants to grow—business and management remain staples, but there is rising interest in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics, as well as pharmacy and medicine. That mix reflects a UK market that sells its shorter course durations and intensive degrees, as well as the appeal of the Graduate Route, which allows international graduates to remain and work after finishing their studies. Advisers tracking demand say the route provides clarity at the point when students make choices about destination countries.

“This makes the UK more attractive for students looking to work and stay after graduation,” said Piyush Kumar, regional director for South Asia, Canada and LATAM at IDP Education.

The Graduate Route sits within the immigration system administered by the Home Office; information on eligibility and conditions is publicly available on the Graduate visa page. Education consultants say that clarity matters when families in India are weighing up costs and outcomes.

“The UK offers predictability while the US offers uncertainty. The graduate route provides clear post-study work pathways,” said Nikhil Jain, founder of ForeignAdmits.

That expectation of a defined path after graduation has, according to multiple agents and university recruiters, become a decisive factor in application decisions from India over the past five years.

Doraiswami’s remarks also focused on the broader spillover effects of that presence. He told students that beyond fees—which form a vital line in many universities’ budgets—their day-to-day spending supports businesses around campuses, from housing and groceries to transport and services. University towns across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reported higher demand tied to the intake surge, with landlords, retailers and part-time employers adjusting to a new rhythm tied to international student arrivals and term dates. For the Indian High Commission, which has expanded its student support outreach in recent years, the task now is to help the record cohort settle, avoid scams, and tap into local networks.

The welcome reception in London was designed to do some of that groundwork in one sitting. Banking representatives discussed account openings; safety briefings covered basic precautions in a new city; and healthcare guidance explained how to register with a GP and access urgent care. Entertainment, including Ahir Shah’s sketch and cultural performances, mixed with the practical advice to give the night a celebratory feel at the start of term. For many Indian students, the early weeks bring a rush of bureaucracy—from biometric appointments and police registration where applicable, to housing paperwork and campus inductions—so the High Commission’s event aimed to bundle essential information with a sense of community.

The growth in Indian enrolments has tracked changes in policy and market signals. Education experts point to Britain’s top-ranked universities and shorter degree timelines as core draws, but they also cite a friendlier climate on post-study options as decisive.

“The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed last month is a significant development and is likely to have a long-term impact on Indian students’ interest in the UK as a destination of choice,” said Ravi Lochan Singh, managing director of Global Reach.

Negotiators have touted elements such as social security exemptions and mutual recognition of qualifications as especially helpful for graduates looking to move between the two economies, as well as for employers hiring across borders.

Those policy shifts help explain why demand has stayed strong despite rising living costs and a tighter housing market in many cities. The admissions cycle typically peaks with the autumn intake in September, followed by a smaller spring intake, and recruiters say the pipeline of Indian students for both intakes has held up. The Q2 2025 visa figures—15,000 study visas granted and a 16% rise in main applicants year-on-year—suggest that, at least for now, interest from India is outpacing broader international trends. University international offices report that Indian students are also enrolling in larger numbers outside London, drawn by lower living costs and specialised programmes in cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.

For Vikram Doraiswami, the case for Indian students in the UK is also about long-term links. He framed the current cohort as future leaders who will carry habits, friendships and professional networks into later careers in business, science, public service and cultural life. In his telling, these human connections make up part of a wider diplomatic architecture that goes beyond formal agreements. That is why the High Commission has invested in live-streaming events across consulates and organizing a registration drive, so it can keep in touch with the 166,000 students scattered across campuses and respond quickly when issues arise. Student officers at consulates have reported more efficient case handling when contact details are current and students are familiar with basic procedures.

Advisers who work directly with families in India say those broader benefits align with very concrete calculations made at kitchen tables from Delhi to Coimbatore. Families look at fees, course length, expected earnings during and after study, and the prospects of transitioning into skilled roles. The attraction of British degrees in data science, AI and robotics, for example, sits beside demand in healthcare, where programmes in pharmacy and medicine remain oversubscribed. University careers services have expanded employer events geared to international students, while local businesses in student-heavy districts have adjusted hiring to accommodate term-time schedules and visa work limits.

For policymakers, the numbers carry both revenue and capacity implications. The presence of 166,000 students from India translates into tuition inflows but also increased pressure on housing, transport and student support services. Universities have responded by expanding private sector partnerships for accommodation and pushing early guidance on tenancy rights. Wednesday’s welcome reception echoed those themes, with staff and volunteers steering new arrivals toward verified housing portals and warning against unvetted listings. Safety briefings emphasised simple steps for late-night travel and property security in unfamiliar cities.

The India-UK education corridor has a history of producing graduates who move into tech startups, research labs and multinational firms. Recent cohorts of Indian students are now feeding directly into sectors the UK has prioritized for growth, especially AI and life sciences. University research groups have noted stronger India-UK collaboration on projects where postgraduate students often serve as the bridge between labs. Doraiswami’s emphasis on research mirrored that, highlighting contributions that go beyond lecture halls and into innovation pipelines where doctoral and master’s students contribute code, experiments and data analysis.

The event’s lighter moments—Ahir Shah’s set drew laughs and selfies—sat alongside reminders about the responsibilities that come with visa conditions. University staff and consular officials encouraged students to keep documents updated, pay attention to attendance requirements, and seek help early if they run into trouble with housing or finances. Recruitment specialists say this kind of early intervention improves retention and outcomes, helping the UK convert more of its Indian students into graduates who then take up post-study options or return home with strong alumni ties.

While officials highlighted the benefits to UK businesses, they also pointed to effects back in India. Families benefit from remittances when students work part-time within permitted limits, and the skills gained in British classrooms often transfer quickly into India’s expanding sectors. Alumni networks have grown in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, linking graduates to British employers and joint ventures. These feedback loops are one reason why advisers expect demand to remain steady even as competition from other destinations intensifies. The FTA’s provisions on qualifications recognition could reduce friction for employers in both countries, making it easier to hire graduates without lengthy credential evaluations.

As the reception wound down, students filtered out with leaflets on banking and healthcare and notes on upcoming campus orientations. For many, the first week in the UK brings a collision of practical chores—registering for classes, finding part-time work, learning bus routes—and the thrill of settling into a new academic and social world. The High Commission’s decision to live-stream the evening ensured that students who could not travel to London could still hear Doraiswami’s message and the practical briefings. For the mission, the priority is to locate and engage the entire cohort of Indian students early in term, so staff can spot patterns and respond—whether that is a spike in housing scams in one city or confusion about GP registrations in another.

That focus on real-time support sits comfortably with the larger story of the past seven years. Since 2017/18, Indian enrolments have increased more than tenfold, culminating in 166,310 Indian students in 2023/24. Universities have grown dependent on that presence, and local economies have done the same. In response, UK institutions and consular teams have built out infrastructure to match—to give new arrivals a soft landing and to keep the channels open as students transition from lecture halls to labs and, for many, into jobs under the Graduate Route.

For Vikram Doraiswami, the narrative is straightforward: a record cohort of Indian students strengthening both countries through study, research and commerce, and a growing architecture of support to help them succeed.

“The Indian student community is the largest for the third year running, at 166,000 students across the UK… Our students are among the brightest and the best that we have,” he told the room once more, as students queued for photos and traded details for their first study groups.

The numbers—166,000 students this year, 15,000 visas in Q2 2025, a 16% rise in demand—tell one part of the story. The rest will play out in classrooms and companies across Britain, and, soon enough, in the careers that take graduates back and forth between the UK and India.