Abstract: Yunnan is a pivot area which connects parts of China with both South East Asia and South Asia. In the higher education of foreign languages in Yunnan province, the Southeast Asian language majors have been developing very rapidly, while the development of South Asian language majors has lagged far behind. Therefore, it is necessary to study the plan for the development of the South Asian language education. By predicting the social needs of South Asian languages and comparing them with that of Southeast Asian languages, this essay suggests that the amounts, structures and student enrollments of the South Asia language majors should be planned scientifically according to their social needs.

Key words: South Asian languages, Southeast Asian languages, social needs, foreign language education planning, universities in Yunnan