New Delhi:
As many as 86 Indians were attacked or killed abroad in the year 2023, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told Parliament on Thursday. A strong increase compared to the previous two years: 29 cases in 2021 and 57 in 2022.
Of these, 12 were in the United States and 10 each in Canada, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, according to the data shared.
“The safety and security of Indians abroad is one of the key priorities for the Government of India. Our missions and posts remain vigilant and closely monitor any untoward incident. Such incidents are immediately discussed with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure that the cases are properly investigated and the perpetrators are punished,” said Kirti Vardhan Singh.
These issues have also been raised during meetings with the government officials of the countries concerned at the “highest level”.
When asked about the details of Indian citizens who have voluntarily given up their citizenship in the last five years, details of the state and year and reasons for surrender, he said in a reply: “As per the information available with the Ministry, the number of Indians who renounced their Indian citizenship was 1,44,017 (in 2019); 2021); 2,25,620 (by 2022); and 2,16,219 (in 2023); 1,29,328 (in 2014); 1,31,489 (in 2015); 1,41,603 (in 2016); 1,33,049 (in 2017);
However, a state-wise breakdown of people who renounced Indian citizenship for foreign citizenship was not available.
He shared the names of 135 countries, including Algeria, Australia, Austria, Greece, Iran, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, USA, Britain and Ukraine, whose citizenship had been acquired by Indians.
He also highlighted that the Center has set up a “24×7 helpline in the Indian missions/posts abroad” to help Indian nationals.
In a separate discussion, the government also informed that 2,16,219 Indians have renounced their citizenship, which is less compared to 2,25,620 in 2022, according to the data.
