Harvard, Oxford, Yale: Where Indian politicians' children studied
As H-1B visa curbs and work restrictions create uncertainty for Indians abroad, calls are growing for homegrown talent to return and help build India. Against this backdrop, here's a look at the children of Indian political leaders who are studying overseas and those who have turned foreign degrees into professional careers.
by India Today Education Desk · India TodayIn Short
- US proposed a 70,000-dollar OPT fee for international students seeking work
- An additional 30,000-dollar charge was proposed for further training after graduation
- Rijiju's eldest son and Radhika Goyal are reported current overseas students
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has recently urged Indians working abroad to return home and help build India’s technology ecosystem, amid fresh uncertainty over the US green-card process.
“When another country tells you to go home, you come home. What is the alternative? Beg them to allow us to stay? Stay illegally?” Vembu wrote in a post on X on October 13. He also said India had “a million things to build”, even if software jobs became scarce.
His appeal follows a US decision to suspend eight technology companies from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, a key step in the employer-sponsored green-card process. The affected firms include major technology and IT services companies such as Microsoft, Infosys, TCS and Wipro.
The move means the US government will not accept new or process pending PERM applications involving the targeted companies. It does not, by itself, cancel H-1B visas, but it adds uncertainty for workers pursuing permanent residency through their employers.
Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has also backed Sridhar Vembu, noting that every challenge presents an opportunity to strengthen India's domestic capabilities and foster local innovation.
Against this backdrop, here is a look at the overseas education journeys of children of Indian politicians, including their universities, qualifications and publicly reported careers.
HARVARD, OXFORD, YALE: WHERE THEY STUDIED AND WHAT THEY DO NOW
A July 2026 report by Scroll examined publicly available information on the children of Indian politicians.
The table below brings together their reported education and current professional status.
| Political leaders and child | Overseas university and qualifications | What are they doing now? |
|---|---|---|
| Piyush Goyal – Dhruv Goyal | Harvard College, economics; Harvard Business School, MBA | CEO of FourLion Capital, an investment firm with offices in Mumbai and New York. |
| Piyush Goyal – Radhika Goyal | University of Oxford, undergraduate and master’s-level studies; PhD in economics at the University of California, San Diego | Listed as a PhD candidate in economics at UC San Diego. Her research interests include public finance, development and political economy. |
| S Jaishankar – Arjun Jaishankar | New York University; graduated in 2021 with a BA; reportedly an MS candidate in computer security at Columbia University | Not in the public domain |
| S Jaishankar – Dhruva Jaishankar | Macalester College, US, where he earned a BA in history and classics; Georgetown University, where he earned an MA in security studies | Executive director of the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America), a public policy think tank in Washington, DC. |
| Nirmala Sitharaman – Vangmayi Parakala | Northwestern University’s Medill School; master’s degree in journalism | A journalist and writer whose work has appeared in publications including Mint and Mint Lounge. |
| Dharmendra Pradhan – Naimisha | O.P. Jindal Global University; one-year LLM programme at Tufts University through an exchange | Senior Associate - Energy, Environment and Infrastructure at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum. Prior to this, she worked at NITI Aayog, CSIS, National Commission for Women. |
| Shivraj Singh Chouhan – Kartikeya Chouhan | University of Pennsylvania; master’s degree in law, completed in 2023 | Founded Sundar Foods & Dairy in 2017, an initiative working with over 7,500 farmer families. Appointed as the President of the Madhya Pradesh Volleyball Association, BJP worker |
| Shivraj Singh Chouhan – Kunal Chouhan | New York University; undergraduate degree, completed in 2016 | Involved in business ventures, including dairy and other enterprises in Madhya Pradesh. |
| Jyotiraditya Scindia – Mahanaaryaman Scindia | Yale University; graduated in 2019 with a bachelor's in political science and government | President of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association since 2025. |
| Jyotiraditya Scindia – Ananya Raje Scindia | Rhode Island School of Design; graduated in 2024 | Designer at Google DeepMind, USA. |
| Ashwini Vaishnaw – Tanya Vaishnaw | MBA from a university in the United Kingdom, according to Scroll | An entrepreneur in the beauty, wellness and hair-care sector. |
| Ashwini Vaishnaw – Rahul Vaishnaw | Overseas education not established in the cited report | Director at Adler Industrial Services Pvt Ltd. |
| P Chidambaram – Karti Chidambaram | BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and law degree from Cambridge | Member of Parliament representing Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu. |
| Shashi Tharoor – Ishaan Tharoor | Yale University; BA with honours in history and ethnicity, race and migration | Global-affairs columnist, The New Yorker, US. |
| Sachin Pilot – Aaran Pilot | University of Pennsylvania, Oxford school of London | Not known in public domain |
| Akhilesh Yadav – Aditi Yadav | UG in Politics and International Relations at University College London (UCL) | Has participated in election campaigning for her parents. |
| Jairam Ramesh – Anirudh Ramesh | Studied in UK | Not known in public domain |
FROM FOREIGN DEGREES TO CAREERS
Vembu has urged Indians to look beyond the uncertainty and contribute to India’s technology ecosystem. His argument is that the country has plenty of problems to solve and opportunities to build businesses, products and jobs.
The overseas education journeys of ministers’ children reflect the range of global universities Indian families have looked to for higher education. Their subsequent paths span research, business, journalism and public life, with some pursuing careers in India and others having professional links overseas.
As the debate over returning to India continues, the larger question is whether the country can create enough high-quality jobs, research opportunities and technology-led businesses to persuade more skilled Indians abroad to build their futures at home.
- Ends