New Delhi: German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann on Thursday said India has the highest number of students in Germany with a total of 42,000 plus students, 25 per cent more within one year.

“Great! 42,000+ Indian students in Germany, 25 per cent more within one year. India is now the No. 1 group of foreign students in Germany, much faster than expected! Germany is popular among Indian students - and Indian students are popular in Germany, I hear from professors very often,” the German Ambassador tweeted on Thursday.

Last month, Phillip Ackermann said German universities are keen on having Indian students due to their good reputation.

Ackermann, however, advised students to exercise caution when working with agencies, as some fraudulent agencies have been identified. He recommended that students from Punjab independently verify their documents and submit their applications directly, without relying on agencies.

"German universities are very keen on having Indian students. They have a very good reputation in Germany," Ackermann had said.

The German Ambassador to India said a growing number of Indian students come to Germany. "We have now 35,000, I have another 32,000 applications on the table of the embassy. That's quite a lot, actually. And unfortunately, we need a little time to process these applications. I know that some students might be a little frustrated that it doesn't go as quickly as they had expected, but I can tell you that, in principle, Indian students are very welcome in Germany," he had said.

"I would advise every student from Punjab to make an application in Germany, a verification of the documents on his or her own. We have seen agencies that are fraudulent and therefore I would recommend doing it individually and not through an agency," he had said.

Ackermann had said that India is a very interesting market for Germany. "It's a big market, it's a growing market. India has a very solid growth for years now. We are very impressed with this growth. It's one of the very few countries in the world that has sustainable growth. And therefore German business sees increasingly an opportunity also for further investment in India. Now, Germany is by far the biggest trading partner in Europe with India. But I think in the years to come, we'll see much more investment in German business here," the German Ambassador had said.