The Currency Problem No One Prepared Indian Study Abroad Students For: Insights from Prodigy Finance

“Rising Fuel Costs, INR Depreciation and Visa Uncertainty: Prodigy Finance Advises Students to Consider USD or Same-Currency Loans to Avoid Financial Shock After Reaching Their Destination”

London, May, 2026: Geopolitical tensions, shifting visa rules, and rising costs are creating fresh uncertainty for students, making the global study abroad environment more challenging than ever. Though students are still not stepping back from their plans. In fact, many students today seem even more determined than ever to study overseas because of a better future, which is worth pursuing.

From strict visa policies, rising airfare costs linked to fuel prices, INR currency fluctuations and growing funding pressure, the journey now feels much heavier for students and families than it did a few years ago. For many Indian families, studying abroad is no longer just about getting into a university. It has become months of financial planning, emotional stress, waiting, and constant uncertainty before students even reach campus.

In our previous report, we found that not every student pursuing international education comes from a privileged or financially stable background. Over 79% of students planning to study abroad now come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, while close to 60% belong to humble background families whose parents work day and night to support both their education in India and their dream of building a better future through global education. Even in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, many students pursuing international education come from modest households where studying abroad is seen as a life-changing opportunity.

Thousands and thousands of Indian students choose to study abroad year-on-year, though access to flexible international funding options remains limited, and merit-based international lenders such as Prodigy Finance are still relatively few in number, leaving many students with no option other than traditional education loans. These loans often come with the requirement of collateral*, such as family assets like land, property, or even gold, or a co-signer, adding further pressure on students and families already managing rising study abroad costs.

Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Business Officer at Prodigy Finance, believes this is a crucial moment for Indian students to carefully think about how to finance their education abroad. “This is a very important time for Indian students to consider funding in USD or in the same currency as their destination country. Even regular travellers from India are already talking about how INR depreciation is increasing their travel costs, so imagine the additional pressure students face when they are moving overseas for education and managing tuition, housing, and daily expenses altogether.”

Kapoor also pointed out that while INR depreciation can benefit graduates who are already working abroad and sending money back home, it creates additional stress for students travelling overseas for the first time.

“At the same time, students are already dealing with visa constraints for the US and rising travel expenses. Flight fares are increasing rapidly, and for students from modest backgrounds, a huge amount of money is now going into travel itself. Currency exchange losses are adding another layer of pressure, and we are receiving a large number of emails from students who are anxious and trying to understand how to manage everything together.”

Sonal further advised students to avoid delaying travel planning during the current intake season. “My advice to students would be to start planning travel carefully and choose flexible flight booking options wherever possible. Airfares are expected to rise further over the coming months because of ongoing fuel-related pressures, so early planning can make a real difference.”

To support students during this period, Prodigy Finance and NovaGrad had earlier introduced initiatives to help reduce rising study abroad costs. Through the ProdiSHE campaign, two eligible STEM students from India may receive USD 1,000 toward their loan amount, while selected students applying through NovaGrad may also receive application fee reimbursements of up to USD 200, with winners to be announced in June.