Weekly Numerics | Record rise in Indian students in the US, dip in wheat acreage, and cargo growth in ports

A weekly series from Moneycontrol

Weekly Numerics is a column where we present you with three to five charts based on major events or interesting data points that emerged during the week. Here are some of the figures we want to highlight.

Indian students contribute around USD 7.14 billion to the US economy

The number of Indian students in the US reached an all-time high during 2022-23, according to data from the Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange released recently.

According to the report, the number of students from India studying in universities in the US rose more than 35 percent to reach 268,923 in 2022-23. This is the highest increase registered among all sending countries—making India the top source of international students in the US during the year. Moreover, students from India contributed nearly $7.14 billion to the US economy in 2022.

Overall, India stands second behind China for the total number of international students in the US. However, the latest data suggests that the gap between the numbers of students from both countries in the US is narrowing.

As much as 61.7 percent of Indian students in the US are pursuing postgraduate degrees. Meanwhile, more than 84 percent of the students are pursuing their education at doctoral universities.

The most popular field of study among Indian students in the US is computer science/math. More than 41 percent of the students from India are pursuing a degree in the same. Engineering courses are the second most popular, with nearly 27 percent of Indian students pursuing such courses.

Wheat production to shrink in FY24

The total wheat production in India is estimated to see a decline this fiscal year due to shrinkage in sown area, according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Wheat production is expected to decline by 6 percent from 110.55 million tonnes (MT) in FY23 to 106.4 MT in FY24.

“The rabi sowing season has commenced with 1.8 million hectares covered with wheat by November 3, 2023. This is 12.6 percent lower from the same period in the previous year. Sowing will catch up in the coming weeks. However, we expect wheat acreage to decrease by 3 percent in 2023-24 as farmers in key wheat producing states may opt for alternative crops,” said CMIE in its report.

“We anticipate wheat to be sown on 30.4 million hectares in 2023-24, which is lower than the 31.4 million hectares sown in 2022-23,” the economic think tank added.

Wheat yield is also expected to be marginally lower this year due to the impact of El Niño on temperatures in the central and northern states. However, the decline in wheat acreage would be the bigger contributor to the dip in production than the decrease in yield.

Major ports log double-digit growth in cargo traffic

Major ports owned by the central government recorded their first double-digit growth in this fiscal in October, indicating a turnaround after showing sluggish growth during the months before.

Cargo handled by major ports increased by 13.88 percent to reach 70.5 MT in October from 61.9 MT the month before, according to provisional data from Indian Ports Association.

The cargo traffic in major ports had shown tepid performance during much of the previous and current fiscal years due to global headwinds such as the Russia-Ukraine war.