New Delhi : Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared important information about Indians working in the Russian Armed Forces in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In a written reply to a question, Kirti Vardhan Singh said that 12 Indian citizens have already left the Russian Armed Forces, while another 63 people are planning to leave work early. Singh said that eight Indians are reported to have been killed.

He said the government has received resignation requests from some Indian nationals who were recruited in the Russian armed forces under unclear circumstances. The exact number of such Indian nationals is not known, he said. The minister said the government had provided financial assistance to bring back the bodies of four Indian nationals to India. He said the Russian government has said that compensation will be provided to the families of the deceased persons.

More than 300 Indians involved in scams were brought back to the country.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the Indian Embassy in Bangkok has so far facilitated the repatriation of more than 300 Indian nationals who were trapped in various scams in Thailand's neighbouring countries. In a written reply to a question, Singh said that cases of Indian nationals from different parts of the country, including Gujarat, getting trapped in various scams in Thailand's neighbouring countries Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos have come to the government's notice.

Last year, more than 2.1 lakh Indians gave up citizenship

On Thursday, the government told Rajya Sabha that more than 2.16 lakh Indians had renounced their citizenship in 2023. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written reply to questions on Indians who renounced citizenship in the last five years. In his reply, he also shared the relevant data of 2011-2018.

He said that 2.25 lakh people gave up Indian citizenship in 2022, 1.63 lakh in 2021, 85,256 in 2020 and 1.44 lakh in 2019. The minister said that the reasons for giving up citizenship are personal.In 2024, seven Indian students died due to violence abroad. Indian students have died in violence or attacks in three countries this year. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in Rajya Sabha in a written reply to questions on the number of Indian students killed in attacks abroad during the last five years.

According to the data, this year, 124 Indian students died in various foreign countries due to accidents or medical reasons. Out of the seven students who died due to violence or attacks this year, four were in Canada, two in the US and one in Australia.

This year, more than 13 lakh students are pursuing higher education abroad

The government told Parliament that more than 13 lakh Indian students are pursuing higher studies abroad in 2024. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh shared the data in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether the government maintains data on overseas students going abroad for studies.

In his reply, Singh shared country-wise details of Indian students studying abroad in 108 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, Israel and Ukraine. As per the data shared, as of today, 13,35,878 Indian students are pursuing higher education abroad in 2024.