From 23 to 2,362: How Odisha Became India’s 9th Largest Hub for Foreign Students

02 Jan 2026, 06:36 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Odisha has cemented its status as a rising destination for global learning, emerging as one of the top 10 states in India for attracting international students, according to a recent report by NITI Aayog.

The premier policy think tank’s report, ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India,’ places Odisha at the ninth position nationwide, hosting a total of 2,362 international students pursuing undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), and PhD courses. This data, drawn from the Ministry of Education’s All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) reports spanning 2012 to 2022, highlights a remarkable surge from just 23 foreign students in 2012-13. Odisha attracts a significant portion of students from South East Asia and Africa, partly due to the state’s proactive “Study in Odisha” outreach in these specific regions.

While Karnataka leads the list with 5,954 students, the report specifically noted that states like Odisha and Haryana have become “new and important destinations.”

The “Bhubaneswar Model” of Concentration

The report reveals that Odisha’s success is highly concentrated in a single “education cluster.” It notes that Bhubaneswar has one of the highest densities of National Institutes (IIT, AIIMS, NISER) and private universities (KIIT, SOA) working in a “hub-and-spoke” model. This clustering is what allowed Odisha to surpass established hubs like West Bengal (Kolkata) and Telangana (Hyderabad) in attracting international talent.

The report attributes the state’s growing popularity to three key factors:

Quality of education and research.
Affordability.
A culture of zero tolerance towards racism on campuses.

Most international students, specifically 2,221, are enrolled in UG courses, with BTech being the most sought-after programme. Beyond B.Tech, there is a rising trend of international students enrolling in Odisha’s Nursing and Allied Health Sciences programs.

In response to the growing global presence, state officials are actively supporting the international community. The Higher Education Department has established a dedicated international student facilitation cell to swiftly address any issues faced by foreign students across public, private, and national institutes. Furthermore, the state is currently funding the construction of special hostels on university campuses to ensure a smooth academic and social experience for these students. While student influx is rising, there is still a gap in “Global Living Standards” in student housing. This is why the state is now specifically funding “special hostels” —it was a direct recommendation from NITI Aayog to sustain this growth.