Washington: The enrolment of first-time graduate students from India in the US universities has registered a 27 per cent growth this year even as China witnessed a decline in comparison to the last year, a latest report has said. "The first-time enrolment of students from India increased 27 per cent, marking the second year in a row of double-digit growth in first-time enrolments of students from that country," the Council of Graduate Students has said in its report. According to the report, in 2013 the increase was a whopping 40 per cent. The increase in Indian enrolment offset a one per cent dip in first-time enrolments of students from China in 2014, the first decline measured since the survey was initiated in 2004. The change in Chinese first-time enrolment concerns a relatively large number of students, since Chinese students constitute 33 per cent of the total enrolment of international graduate students in the US, the report said.

According to the report, between 2013 and 2014, the first-time enrolment of international graduate students increased by eight per cent, while total graduate enrolment also increased by eight per cent. The growth trends may also reflect the fact that US graduate institutions have become more strategic about recruiting international students to their campuses, President of Council for Graduate Students Suzanne Ortega said. "Given the growing international competition for top students, US institutions have been developing new ways of communicating with prospective students and offering students who matriculate stronger support services after they arrive. "Universities understand that they can't afford to lose the contributions of these talented students to research and innovation on their campuses," the report said. According to the report, the first-time enrolment of students from Brazil increased 91 per cent in 2014, following a 17 per cent increase in 2013 and a 14 per cent increase in 2012. These increases concern a relatively small number of students, the report has said. However, the enrolment of students from South Korea and Taiwan declined seven per cent and eight per cent respectively in 2014.