Viksit dream losing lustre? Over 2 lakh people renounced Indian citizenship in 2024

New Delhi: Even though India is the fifth-largest economy in the world and the Narendra Modi government has set an ambitious plan to make it a $5 trillion economy, it appears not many Indians are buying into that 'viksit' dream. As per the Central government's own data, over 2 lakh people have renounced their Indian citizenship in 2024.

Over the past five years, 8,96,843 Indians have given up their citizenship to settle elsewhere, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to queries by Congress MP KC Venugopal on the number of individuals who have renounced their Indian citizenship and taken citizenship of other countries during the last five years.

"As per the information available with the ministry, the number of Indians who gave up their Indian citizenship was 85,256 in 2020, 1,63,370 in 2021, 2,25,620 in 2022, 2,16,219 in 2023 and 2,06,378 in 2024," Singh said.

For reference, such cases were 1,22,819 in 2011, 1,20,923 in 2012, 1,31,405 in 2013 and 1,29,328 in 2014, he added.

The reasons for renouncing Indian citizenship or taking foreign citizenship are personal and known only to the individual, the government said. "The government recognises the potential of the global workplace in an era of the knowledge economy. It has also brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the Indian diaspora," Singh said.

A successful, prosperous, and influential diaspora is an asset for India, which stands to gain a lot from tapping into their networks and the productive utilisation of the soft power that comes from having such a flourishing diaspora, he said.

The government's efforts are also aimed at harnessing the diaspora's potential to its fullest, including through the sharing of knowledge and expertise, he said.

In response to another query, the government shared that according to available inputs, the population of overseas Indians is 3,43,56,193, out of which 1,71,81,071 are Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and 1,71,75,122 are Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).