This article discusses the recent trends in doctoral education in India in the changing context of higher education in the country. This context is characterised by the gradual withdrawal of state patronage for this level of education and the coterminous rise of the private sector, the formulation and implementation of the national framework for doctoral education in 2016, the adoption of the National Education Policy 2020 by the Government of India, and the devastating effect of the pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) since 2020. It focuses on the pattern of enrolment and out-turn of doctoral students, and on the different aspects of doctoral education such as structure, curriculum, supervision, and examination.