Rupee effect: Australia to allow more work hours for Indian students

Indian students studying in Australia can breathe a sigh of relief.The land Down Under has decided to allow Indian students to work an unlimited number of hours per week and given additional work options to help them cope with the effects of the rupee’s depreciation, a report in The Times of India said.

“We are going to provide flexible work options for postgraduate and research students. They will be able to work for an unlimited number of hours per week during their studies,” David Holly, consul general for South India, Australian consulate in Chennai, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

About 70,000 Indians study in Australia currently.

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Indian students in other countries, however, continue to struggle as the rupee continues to dive against major currencies. Even students planning to travel overseas later this year will find theirbudgets going out of whack with the flailing fortunes of the rupee, which recently hit a new low of 56.46 against the US dollar. The currency is currently trading around 55 levels, after dropping 7 percent in May alone.The rupee has plunged more than 20 percent against the dollar in the past 12 months.

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Some students have no choice but to cut down on their living costs abroad, another report in The Economic Times said.

One photography course student in the US told the newspaper that since her budgeted funds had been used up before scheduled, she had to compromise on her meals. “…if I overspent on lunch then I had to skip the next one,” she said.

That’s what prospective students travelling abroad in the next few months might have to do eventually as well.

Of course, a few prayers to keep the rupee’s value intact might help as well.