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 Canada'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 146,505 or 16.4 per cent, between July and September 2025. Last year, they comprised 52,425, or nearly 30 per cent of the overall 177,025 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 per cent of the total 680,880 permits issued. In 2024, that percentage slid to just over a third of the total - 188,205 out of 515,095. In 2025, that figure has fallen to below 25 per cent - 70,180 out of 290,105. 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 seven per cent 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 408,000, including 155,000 visas issued to newly-arriving international students plus 253,000 extensions for current and returning students. "This number is 7% lower than the 2025 issuance target of 437,000 and 16% lower than 2024 issuance target of 485,000," IRCC said....