India News : The number of Indians giving up their citizenship has been steadily rising over the past few years. The Union Government informed Parliament that nearly 9 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in the last five years.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that around 21 lakh Indians acquired foreign citizenship between 2011 and 2024. A sharp increase was recorded after 2021. While the number dropped to nearly 85,000 during the COVID-19 year 2020, it surged to around 2 lakh annually in the following years.
The government also shared details of evacuation efforts. Over the last three years, 5,945 Indians were evacuated from Middle Eastern countries due to security concerns. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha that these included evacuations under Operation Ajay from Israel and Operation Sindhu from Iran-Israel conflict zones. Additionally, the mortal remains of 45 Indians killed in the Kuwait fire tragedy were brought back to India.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha nominated MP Sudha Murty proposed a constitutional amendment to ensure free and compulsory education and care for children aged 3 to 6 years. She suggested adding a new Article 21B to the Constitution and emphasized strengthening the Anganwadi system to support early childhood development.
