According to reports, the number of Indian research scholars, who opt for going abroad has been the lowest in the past three years. In the academic year 2018-19, more than 6.20 lakh Ph.D. holders opted to go abroad but it was a sharp decline from 2017-18 when the figures stood at 8.06 lakh researchers. Nearly two lakh research scholars have opted not to go abroad. Meanwhile, in 2016-17, nearly 6.84 lakh research scholars went abroad.

The data was revealed by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry in a written reply while answering a question in Parliament.

The number of scholars opting to go to the US has reduced to half as compared to the previous years. In 2018-19, almost 2 lakh scholars went to the US while in 2017-18, around 4.37 lakh students went there and 4.23 lakh in 2016-17.

But on the other hand, the number of students opting to go to Canada and Australia has increased. Although the numbers have fallen, the US remains the top choice for Indian researchers, followed by Canada and Australia.

The HRD data also revealed that the number of Indian researchers pursuing PhDs in Central Universities is quite lower. About 15,941 students out of the 1.69 lakh candidates opted to study Ph.D. programmes and have been enrolled in the central varsities.

The data further revealed that India has 15 researchers per lakh of the population, which is much lower compared to China, and US. Israel is among the forerunners with 825 researchers per lakh population, according to the data by HRD in National Education Policy.