Toronto, Dec. 10 -- The number of study permits issued to international students from India dropped by more than half in the third quarter of this year when compared to the same period in 2024, even as Canadian government's policies to mitigate intake in this category is likely to extend this trend. According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Immigration Canada or IRCC, Indian students accounted for 24,030 permits out of a total of 1,46,505 or 16.4%, between July and September 2025. Last year, they comprised 52,425, or nearly 30% of the overall 1,77,025 study visas issued during the same period. In the month of September, the latest for which data is available, Indians were issued 8,400 out of 49,350 visas, as against 14,385 out of 46,230 during the same month in 2024. The downward trajectory in issuance of study permits to Indians is clear from the data for the past three years. In 2023, Indians, at 2,77,980, received nearly 41% of the total 6,80,880 permits issued. In 2024, that percentage slid to just over a third of the total - 1,88,205 out of 5,15,095. In 2025, that figure has fallen to below 25%- 70,180 out of 2,90,105. The decline follows Canadian government policies that were instituted in the last quarter of 2023, as further restrictions were ordered in the months following amid concerns in the country over a surge in temporary immigrants contributing towards a spike in housing affordability and placing pressure on public infrastructure. In November this year, the government projected a 7% decrease in the total number of international students issued permits next year. IRCC noted that the total number of study permits to be issued in 2026 will be capped at 4,08,000, including 1,55,000 visas issued to newly-arriving international students plus 2,53,000 extensions for current and returning students. "This number is 7% lower than the 2025 issuance target of 4,37,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 issuance target of 4,85,000," IRCC said. IRCC said that the cap that was first introduced in 2024 "has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada's temporary population" as the number of study permit holders has fallen from over a million in January 2024 to about 7,25,000 by September 2025. "While this progress is significant, further reductions are needed to meet our commitment of reducing the share of Canada's temporary population to below 5% of the total population by the end of 2027," it added. The immigration levels plan introduced in Parliament earlier this month had Canada sharply reducing its intake of temporary residents, including workers and international students, by nearly 43%. In its previous levels plan, the government had looked at admitting 3,05,000 new international students each year. However, the latest plan showed the target at 1,55,000, reducing further to 1,50,000 in 2027 and 2028....