Houston (US): Despite recent visa regulations and overall decrease in the international student enrolments, India has surpassed China as the leading place of origin for international students in the United States for the second consecutive year.

A record 74,603 Indian students came to study in the US in the year 2002-2003, overtaking China (64,757), which topped the list for the past several years.

Indians now constitutes 13 per cent of the total 586,323 international students, according to Open Doors 2003 annual report on international education published by the Institute of International Education (IIE), with support from the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

After five years of steady growth, the number of international students attending colleges and universities in the United States in 2002-03 showed only a slight increase over the prior year.

Despite decreases in the number of students from some countries, several major sending countries saw strong increases, including India, Korea, and Kenya.

Number of the Indian students has more than doubled in less than a decade, from 34,796 in 1993-94 to 74,603 in 2002-2003.

US experts attribute this increase in the Indian student enrolment to the competitive education system in Indian higher education.

PTI