24-year-old Taruka Srivastava is headed to the UK for a Master's Degree in Journalism. A scholarship will cover a part of the fee, but Taruka now needs to pay nearly 3000 pounds extra.
The global meltdown of stock markets and the Sensex's biggest slump in years has cost investors a lot of wealth. But the domino effect on the volatility of rupee has also impacted the Indian students studying abroad.
The weakening currency has added an extra burden on these students with their education costs increased by 10-15 per cent. A further downfall may discourage students from taking up courses abroad, especially in the US and the UK.
24-year-old Taruka Srivastava is headed to the UK for a Master's Degree in Journalism. A scholarship will cover a part of the fee, but Taruka now needs to pay nearly 3000 pounds extra.
"After hearing the news I was really shocked because as it is I am already putting a lot of financial pressure on my mother. At the same time I want to pursue my dream. It's really going to be burden to bring back all the money we are investing in our education," Taruka told NDTV.
However, the education consultants say the issue does affect a lot of students and their advice is to plan for a buffer to absorb extra costs.
Founding director and partner at Madhavi Desai Consultancy Iris Madeira told NDTV, "What a student can now do is hedge their bets." She said that a backwards planning of repayment of the loan after one graduates is the best way, and that students should not give up on going.
The businessmen are equally caught up in the storm. The goods they were importing at a certain price agreed upon, now costs higher and the profit margin has fallen.
Deepak Thaker, an Ahmedabad based businessman, has blamed the Reserve Bank of India for his losses. "We imported some goods at Rs 61. When it reached the Indian port its price hit Rs 65 because of RBI's inaction. It has now crossed 65 and severely impacted our business potential," he said.
The only shield now for business owners and students from the falling currency is RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's assurance that the authorities will not hesitate to use the $380 billion foreign exchange reserves to curb falling rupee.