A recent report shows that, a record 165,918 Indians students were pursuing study in the United States during academic year 2015-16, which is a rise of  25 per cent over the previous academic year. With this rise, India has became the second leading country of origin among international students in the USA.

According to the 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, "It was the highest absolute rise of students ever and followed the previous year's record growth."

According to the new report, "The number of international students at US universities and  colleges surpassed one million for the first time during the 2015-16 academic year, a hike of seven per cent from the previous year to a new high of nearly 1,044,000, representing five per cent of the total student population at United States institutions."

The Institute of International Education publish the Open Doors report in partnership with the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, annually.

"The new report indicates there were a record 165,918 students from India, a 25 per cent increase on the year before, making it the second leading country of origin among international students in the US,"  the report said.

"In 2015-16, there were nearly 69,000 more international students in United States higher education compared to the previous year," it said.

US Ambassador Richard Verma said that, "Higher education continues to be the bedrock of our people to people ties. More students from India studied in the United States than ever before at all levels and I am especially pleased to see the record back-to-back, year-on-year growth in student numbers."

"With efforts such as our Passport to India initiative, we are also seeing the number of American students in India beginning to grow," he added.

The report said, "India stands on 13 number among the top 25 destinations of US study abroad. The number of US students going to India to study for academic credit at their home university in the United States decreased by 3.2 per cent to 4,438, although this number has remained relatively flat across the last five years at 4,500."

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Nandini