Falling rupee affect: Indian students abroad take part time jobs Hit by the falling rupee, Indian students in the US are taking on part-time jobs, eating out less and cooking at home. Some parents have multiple children abroad and are changing their savings and investment plans to accommodate the 7% to 9% hike in expenses. “We had accounted for a rupee value of Rs 70, to be on the safe side when planning the funding for both our children,” says Prafulla Vedak, who runs a customs clearance and forwarding business. “When the rupee started to fall, we waited. We hoped it would stabilise. Instead it fell further. Now, we are paying this dollar rate, and we are paying the late-fee penalties because we waited. We are trying to plan for what we will do if the situation worsens, and if it doesn’t improve, we will have to cancel the trip.” Meanwhile, two weeks ago Ankur Vaishampayan, 22, studying at the University of Texas, began cutting down on fruits and vegetables. “I will buy the cheapest stuff possible and not mind the toll it will take on my health,” he says. “Most of my friends eat out to save time. But I cook now to save money. Pumpkin and round gourd are the cheapest vegetables. I have them four times a week.” The Indian rupee hit an all-time low of Rs 72.54 against the US dollar on September 6 — a fall from less than Rs 65 per dollar six months ago. Students headed abroad, or already enrolled overseas, are bearing the brunt of this sharp devaluation. Meanwhile, Ritesh Vedak, studying in the US, has a brother studying there too. “Neither of us had taken a loan. Our parents send money for tuition every semester and now all their financial estimates have been disrupted,” says Ritesh. The 23-year-old student left India two months ago for a two-year Masters in biomedical engineering course. “They are pooling in their savings for us,” he says. With the new value of the rupee, his course fee has shot up by over Rs 12,000 per semester. “I have to think twice before buying essentials. Even with groceries, every purchase is done after a lot of thinking and calculations. It drains you,” says Anagha Kannan, 21, who shifted to Leeds a week ago to pursue her Masters’ degree in Public Relations. Meanwhile, for students in India with ambitions to study abroad, even the process of applying to institutes of higher education is set to get more expensive. “A student typically applies to multiple colleges, so it’s all adding up,” says education consultant Karan Gupta. -PTC News
