After a UK master's, should international students stay on the Graduate Route or return to India given weak job prospects?

Your decision here should come down to money and sector fit, not a sense of failure either way. Staying makes sense if you have real financial runway and a shot at sponsorship, while returning to India can be the smarter career move if your funds or your field are working against you.

Stay vs Return Decision Factors

Signals That Point Each Way

• Stay if you have active interviews, a strong network, or six or more months of savings without relying on survival jobs.
• Stay if the international experience alone is valuable to you, even without a guaranteed path to settlement.
• Return if you are draining savings, taking on high interest debt, or your industry's graduate schemes explicitly exclude sponsorship.
• Return if you can use your UK master's as a premium credential to move faster into management roles in India's top metros.

My Advice

Set yourself a hard four to six month deadline from today, and track your applications against companies on the UK's official licensed sponsor list rather than applying broadly. If you have not secured a professional offer by your deadline, plan your return to India before your savings and your CV both take a bigger hit.