1.83,000 Indians renounced citizenship this year: Govt

8,441 Indians are currently in foreign jails, including under-trials. Out of this figure, 4,389 are being held in jails in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

New Delhi, Dec 09: Over 16 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2021, including 183,741 this year, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Muraleedharan said the number of Indians who renounced their Indian citizenship in 2015 was 1,31,489, while 1,41,603 people gave it up in 2016 and 1,33,049 in 2017. In 2018, the number was 1,34,561, while 1,44,017 renounced their citizenship in 2019, 85,256 in 2020 and 1,63,370 in 2021.

He said 1,83,741 people gave up Indian citizenship till October 31. For reference purposes, he said the data for 2011 was 1,22,819 while it was 1,20,923 in 2012, 1,31,405 in 2013 and 1,29,328 in 2014. The total number of Indians who gave up Indian citizenship since 2011 comes to 16,21,561.

The minister also said that the number of foreign nationals, except citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who took Indian citizenship was 93 in 2015, 153 in 2016, 175 in 2017, 129 in 2018, 113 in 2019, 27 in 2020, 42 in 2021 and 60 in 2022.

According to data provided by the minister , the total number of Indians who have given up their Indian citizenship since 2011 adds up to 1.6 million people.

To Khaleque's request for an estimate of the wealth taken away from India by those who renounce their citizenship, Muraleedharan said the external affairs ministry does not maintain the data.

In a written response to a separate question from BJP lawmaker Rahul Kaswan, Muraleedharan said a total of 8,441 Indians are currently in foreign jails, including under-trials. Out of this figure, 4,389 are being held in jails in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.