Current Affairs search results for: "indian citizenship renounced"

1. Over 16 lakh people renounce Indian citizenship since 2011

Tags: National

According to the government of India over 16 lakh Indians have given up  Indian citizenship since 2011 including 183,741 this year. The information was given in the Rajya Sabha on 9 December 2022 by the Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan.

Number of Indian who gave up Citizenship 

Year	Number of Indians who  gave up their citizenship
2011	1,22,819
2012	1,20,923
2013	1,31,405
2014	1,29,328
2015	1,31,489
2016	1,41,603
2017	1,33,049
2018	1,34,561
2019	1,44,017
2020	85,256
2021	1,63,370
2022( till 31 October )	1,83,741
Total	16,21,561

The total number of Indians who gave up Indian citizenship since 2011 comes to 16, 21,561.

Foreigners who took Indian Citizenship excluding citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan

The minister said that excluding the citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the number of foreign nationals 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.

2. In 2021, over 1.6 lakh Indians renounced citizenship

Tags: Popular National News

According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) over 1.6 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2021, highest in the past five years. 

Important facts

• According to statistics, more than 78,000 Indians left Indian citizenship to take US citizenship, which is the highest among all other countries.

• 362 Indians living in China also acquired Chinese citizenship.

• The number of Indians who gave up their citizenship in 2021 is 1,63,370. 

• Over 9.24 lakh persons gave up their Indian citizenship in the seven-year period between 2015 and 2021.

• The number of Indians who renounced citizenship in the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 stood at 1,33,049, 1,34,561, 1,44,017 and 85,248 respectively.

Top 10 countries where Indians renounced their citizenship in 2021

1. United States (78,284 in 2021 and 30,828 in 2020)

2. Australia (23,533 in 2021 and 13,518 in 2020)

3. Canada (21,597 in 2021 and 17,093 in 2020)

4. United Kingdom (14,637 in 2021 and 6,489 in 2020)

5. Italy (5,986 in 2021 and 2,312 in 2020)

6. New Zealand (2,643 in 2021 and 2,116 in 2020)

7. Singapore (2,516 in 2021 and 2,289 in 2020)

8. Germany (2,381 in 2021 and 2,152 in 2020)

9. The Netherlands (2,187 in 2021 and 1,213 in 2020)

10. Sweden (1,841 in 2021 and 1,046 in 2020)

What is Citizenship?

• Citizenship refers to the relationship between the individual and the state.

• Citizenship is listed in the 'Union List' under the Constitution and is within the jurisdiction of Parliament.

• The details of the various categories of persons eligible for citizenship in the Constitution are given in Part 2 (Articles 5 to 11).

• The Citizenship Act of 1955 specifies five methods of obtaining citizenship, which include birth, descent, registration, naturalization and incorporation of territory.

Methods of relinquishing citizenship in India

• An Indian citizen, who is of full age and capacity, may renounce the citizenship of India at will.

• If a person takes citizenship of another country, then his Indian citizenship automatically ends because the Indian Constitution provides for single citizenship.

• If a citizen violates the Constitution, has obtained citizenship by fraudulent means, engages in illegal trade or communication with the enemy during war, has been residing outside India continuously for 7 years, then the Government of India can terminate his citizenship.

• If a citizen has been imprisoned in any country for two years during the five years of the citizenship obtained through registration or naturalization, then his citizenship can also be terminated.

3. The Great Indian Immigration

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Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha that  a total of 8,81,254 Indians have given up their citizenship since 2015. Therefore it is worth questioning why educated, skilled Indians are leaving the country in droves.

• Immigration: It is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens.

Citizenship: Citizenship is the status of a person recognized under law as being a legal member of a sovereign state or belonging to a nation. In India, Articles 5 – 11 of the Constitution deals with the concept of citizenship. The term citizenship entails the enjoyment of full membership of any State in which a citizen has civil and political rights. Citizenship of India may be renounced under provisions of Section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 read with rule 23 of the Citizenship Rules, 2009. Overseas Citizen of India: According to the The Ministry of Home Affairs an OCI as a person who: Was a citizen of India on or after 26th January 1950; or Was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January 1950; or Is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria. OCI card: Launched in 2005, under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the OCI card was introduced for fulfilling the demands for dual citizenship among the Indians living in different developed countries.  The OCI card provides Overseas Citizenship of India to live and work in India for an indefinite period of time but does not provide the right to vote, hold constitutional offices or buy agricultural properties.

Background: The data released by the government in Parliament revealed that as many as 1,31,489 Indians renounced their citizenship in 2015. Until September 2021, as many as 1,11,287 Indians have renounced their citizenship.This shows that a significant number of Indians have been leaving the country every year. 

• According to the Expat Insider 2021 survey by InterNations, 59 percent of Indians working abroad relocated for their career,a much higher share than the global average of 47 percent.
• Close to one-quarter (23 percent) found a job on their own, 19 percent were recruited internationally, and 14 percent were sent by their employer. Just three percent moved abroad to start their own business, which is still a slightly higher share than the global average of 2 percent.
• According to a Global Wealth Migration Review report, in 2019, India came second only to China when it came to high net worth individuals (HNIs) leaving the country. As many as 7,000 HNIs left India in 2019.
• India has become a major exporter of healthcare workers to developed nations particularly to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Europe, and other English-speaking countries. 
  • GCC: It is a regional, intergovernmental political and economic union that consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Reasons Behind Indians Moving Abroad

The data shows an alarm to the Indian government for retaining its own human resources and finding out the reasons for the same. Few reasons can be as following:

• Eased Visa Rules: Indian competence, linguistic prowess, and a higher level of education are the triggers for relocation to countries, which have eased visa rules to attract talent.
  • The UK has granted free one-year visa extensions to eligible overseas healthcare workers and their dependents whose visas were due to expire before October this year.
  • France has offered citizenship to frontline immigrant healthcare workers during the pandemic.
• Easy migration policies: The developed nations are easing migration policies to attract talents to boost their economy. They target Asians specifically to take up intellectual labour.
  • Countries like Singapore have opened the doors for Indians. In addition, there are Scandinavian countries, which have eased immigration rules, making it easy for Indians to move there. Above all, Indian IT professionals are in high demand in the US.
• New Knowledge based economy: Globally knowledge economy based on scientific and technological temper has led to the growing demand for the talented pool. India became the major supplier for the talented and skilled human resources especially for European countries.
• Enhanced opportunities: Many foreign countries, aware of the intrinsic talent of Indians as engineers, doctors, and other key service providers with English as the language of communication, are increasingly opening their doors.
  • Majority of Indians are working in big companies. The list includes Google, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, Palo Alto Networks among others.
• Better working conditions: Indians are more satisfied with their working hours and live-in countries where they enjoy better working hours and a better work-life balance.
• Brain Drain situation: Indians working abroad are highly educated and generally did not find suitable careers in India. E.g. Close to nine in ten either have a bachelor’s degree (35 percent vs. 33 percent globally) or a postgraduate/master’s degree (54 percent vs. 47 percent globally). “Non-residential” Indians are becoming “not-returning” Indians, and even the “reverse brain drain” has stopped.
  • Another six percent hold a PhD as their highest level of education.
• The passport issue: India does not offer dual citizenship so people seeking citizenship in other countries must give up their Indian passport. However, Indians who renounce citizenship can still apply for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which gives them the benefit of residing and even running a business in India.
  • The Indian government has made the process of disowning Indian citizenship as simple as possible through the online process.
• Better Rewards and Wages: India’s young, skilled labour force leaves in search of better rewards for their effort and talent. It's the overall social safety net, tax benefits that is one of the main reasons for families to relocate out of India. While the U.S. continues to be the favourite destination, Canada is quickly catching up. The idea of a welfare state is attractive where a family’s basic needs of education and health are taken care of or are available at quite an affordable price.
• Lack of funding for research and Development:  Many science students and scientists  moved abroad in the search of upgraded labs and research facilities which are low in India due to funds.
  • Nearly 0.7 per cent of the GDP was spent every year on research and development, including strengthening of science and technology infrastructure, during 2014-15 to 2018-19 which is too less in comparison to the other countries.
• Rampant corruption and political interference: Corruption has infected all fields in India. Educated and talented young people may find it very difficult to work in such a type of environment. Further the spread of political interference has made the working conditions worse.

Measures Taken By the Government of India 

• There are a number of measures which the Indian government is taking to stop the brain drain, such as prioritising skill development through its National Skill Development Mission that aims to train approximately 400 million people across the country by 2022.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
• Pradhan Mantri ‘YUVA’ Yojana for Entrepreneurship
• Other programmes have been launched like Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Programme which aims to attract talented youth to the study of science at an early stage and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base. 
• Triad of Scheme for Transformational and Advanced Research in Sciences (STARS), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) and Impactful Policy Research in Social Science (IMPRESS) with Common objective to boost India specific research in social and pure sciences.
• The Ramalingaswami Fellowship: For providing a platform to scientists who are willing to return and work in India. Other one is The Ramanujan Fellowship.

Conclusion

Such migrations are a case of losing the best Indian brains to foreign countries. This trend will continue to grow while India is spending on teaching students, (the IITs, IIMs and other institutes). It is crucial for India to reverse the trend by offering citizenship to bright foreigners who are studying in India. There is a need to  look for creative ways to attract both foreign and Indian talent. Increased investment in healthcare, especially in the public sector is essential as this would increase employment opportunities for health workers.The urgent need is to first understand what is compelling people to leave India. The questions about quality of life, employment opportunities, social structure, financial and social security, development, gender equality, freedom in all walks of life must be answered to stop the great immigration of talented skilled Indians.

4. National News

Tags: National News

1. Panels are formed to look into EPFO functioning. 

For ad-hoc board-level committees to oversee the functioning of various aspects of the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) approved by the Union Labor and Employment cabinet  Minister Bhupendra Yadav.

• The committee headed by  Labour Secretary “Sunil Barthwal”:
  • Committee on ‘pension reforms’  and 
  • Committee on ‘IT and Communications’
• The committee headed by Minister of State for Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli:
  • Committee on ‘EPFO’s internal human resources and establishment matters’ and
  • Committee on ‘finding ways to enhance EPFO’s coverage and reducing related litigation’.

2. National Health Accounts(NHA) report for 2007-18 released 

• There has been an increase in the share of government health expenditure from 1.15% in 2013-14 to 1.35%  of the GDP in 2017-18. 
•  The share of Government Health Expenditure in total health expenditure has also increased from 28.6%in 2013-14 to 40.8% in 2017-18.
• The government’s health expenditure as a share of total Government expenditure has increased from 3.78% to 5.12% between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
• In per capita terms, the government health expenditure has increased from Rs 1042 to Rs.1753 between 2013-14 to 2017-18.
• The share of primary healthcare in current government health expenditure has increased from 51.1% in 2013-14 to 54.7% in 2017-18.
• The out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a share of total health expenditure has come down to 48.8% in 2017-18 from 64.2% in 2013-14.  The fall in out-of-pocket expenditure is a good sign as it indicates that government expenditure on health is increasing.

3. Admiral R. Hari Kumar takes charge as the new Chief of Naval Staff

Admiral R Hari Kumar became the 25th Chief of Naval Staff succeeding Admiral Karambir Singh.

4. Accidental Death and Sucide Report 2020

The National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) released its report on ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ (ASDI) for 2020.

Highlights of the report 

• The number of deaths by suicides rose by 10% from 2019, taking the total figure to an all-time high of 1,53,052.
• Accidental deaths fell by 11% from 2019 to 2020 to 374, 397, the lowest figure since 2009.
• Daily wage earners made up the largest proportion of people who died by suicide in the country in 2020 at 24.6%. 
• Tamil Nadu was the state with the highest number of deaths by suicides among daily wage earners with 6,495, followed by Madhya Pradesh (4,945), Maharashtra (4,176), Telangana (3,831) and Gujarat (2,745).

5. Supreme Court to allow setting up of medical board for Jayalalitha Death inquiry

The Supreme Court said it will pass orders to allow the setting up of a medical board of AIIMS doctors to help Justice A. Arumugasamy Commission of Inquiry to gather the facts on the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospital in Chennai in 2016.

6. Center appoints committee to review EWS criteria

The  Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has appointed a three-member committee to review the criteria for 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in educational institutions and government jobs in terms of the provisions of the Explanation to Article 15 of the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act 2019.

• The  Central government gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court on a petition regarding EWS reservation in NEET(National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) to explain the reason behind fixing the criteria for EWS.
• The panel members are 
• Ajay Bhushan Pandey, former Finance Secretary 
• V.K. Malhotra; Member Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research, and 
• Sanjeev Sanyal Principal Economic Adviser to the Government of India.

7. Elephants Death

A whopping 1,160 elephants were killed in the country due to reasons other than natural causes in the past 10 years up to December 31, 2020, according to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

8. UAPA Trials cannot be held indefinitely - Supreme Court

Hearing a petition of an undertrial arrested under UAPA(Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment on the right of the undertrials.

• The Supreme Court said that putting a person accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act behind bars for an unduly long time with no progress in the trial or appeal process is a violation of his or her fundamental right and a threat to public confidence in the administration of justice,
• The Court held that timely delivery of justice is part of human rights.

9. Paika Rebellion to be added as case study in NCERT book

Union Culture Minister, Mr. Kishen Reddy said in the Rajya  Sabha that the 1817 Paika Revolution of Odisha will be included in the NCERT textbook  as one of the beginnings of the popular uprising against the British.

• The Paika Rebellion, also called the Paika Bidroha, was an armed rebellion against Company rule in India in 1817.

10. Government seeks  62000 Crore for Air India

• The Government has sought Parliament’s nod to infuse ₹62,000 crore as a supplementary grant to Air India Assets Holding Limited (created for disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries), for debt and other liabilities of Air India.

11. Government seeks  Rs 25,000 crore for MGNREGS from Parliament  

Central Government has put before the parliament a supplementary demand of grant in the amount of Rs 25000 Crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme

• Initial budgetary allocation for MGNREGA in the financial year 2021-22 was Rs 73000 Crore

12. "6 Lakh Indians renounced citizenship in last 5 years"

• More than Six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, as per the data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs to Lok Sabha. 
• About 40% of the citizenship renunciation requests come from the United States, followed by Australia and Canada, which amount to a chunk of around 30% of such requests.

13. Indian Government brings bills to extend the tenure of ED and CBI

The  Government of India has introduced two bills, the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021 and Delhi Special Establishment (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Lok Sabha which seek to replace theThe Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021  and The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021  promulgated on 14 November  2021.

• The bill was introduced by the Minister of State for Personnel and Training Dr. Jitendra Singh.

5. 6 Lakh Indians renounced citizenship in last 5 years

Tags: National News

• More than Six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, as per the data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs to Lok Sabha. 
• About 40% of the citizenship renunciation requests come from the United States, followed by Australia and Canada, which amount to a chunk of around 30% of such requests.
• According to information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, a total of 1,33,83,718 Indian nationals are living in foreign countries as on date.
• Regarding granting Indian citizenship, MHA replied that a total of 10,645 people had applied for Indian citizenship in the same period out of which 4177 was granted. 
• Of this, the maximum are from Pakistan (7,782), followed by Afghanistan (795), the US (227), Sri Lanka (205), Bangladesh (184), Nepal (167) and Kenya (185).