Punjab study loan, visa statistics signal exodus

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₹10 lakh. This is in stark contrast to the national average loan request of around ₹33 lakh," Mehra added. Enrolments from Punjab were 4x for the April-June quarter of FY24 versus the same period in FY23, said Ankur Dhawan, president, upGrad Abroad.

Dhawan said loans for studying abroad for states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are mostly for the US. Overseas job applications from Punjab are also on the rise. “There has been a 27% year-on-year rise in job applications from Punjab for international destinations.

This is a significant increase and is not constrained to some specific location, viz. Canada, but is spread across Australia, the US and parts of Europe," Pranshu Upadhyay, regional director at search firm Michael Page, said. The majority of candidates have applied for entry- and mid-level positions, spanning sectors such as retail, business services and manufacturing.

Interestingly, this trend is not limited to international destinations; there’s been a notable increase in job searches in the state as well. “There is distress in Punjab due to several challenges and we find an increasing number of people enquiring for jobs in the National Capital Region (NCR)," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, the chief executive of recruitment company CIEL HR Services. Recruiters said the trend could last for a long time.

“The conversion of this intent to reality is not happening in a significant way, primarily due to a mismatch between their expectations around jobs and available opportunities. However, I see this as the beginning of a talent migration from Punjab to the NCR," Mishra added. While NBFCs and recruiters have seen a surge, consultants said selected destinations are no longer restricted to popular countries such as