These figures are frightening! More than 600 Indian students died abroad in the last 5 years

New Delhi : A worrying news has come out for Indian students studying abroad. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), at least 633 Indian students have died in 41 countries in the last five years. The highest number of 172 deaths have occurred in Canada. 19 students have lost their lives in violent attacks. The causes of death also include natural causes, accidents and medical emergencies. This information was given by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirtivardhan Singh in the Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha on a question by Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh.

In a written reply, the foreign minister said that Canada has the highest number of deaths of 172 Indian students. After that, 108 students died in the US. 58 students died in Britain, 57 in Australia, 37 in Russia and 24 in Germany. There is also news of the death of a student from neighboring country Pakistan. However, the Union Minister gave information on another question asked about violent attacks on Indian students abroad. he/she said that the data available with the Indian Mission/Post has not revealed any increase in violence against Indian students who have gone abroad recently.

The Union Minister informed that 19 students have lost their lives in violent attacks abroad. According to the data, Canada has the highest number of deaths at 9 students. It is followed by the US with 6 and Australia, Britain, China and Kyrgyzstan with one student each. The Ministry of External Affairs said that whenever there are cases of unpleasant incidents abroad, the Indian Mission/Post immediately takes it up with the concerned authorities of that country. This is done to ensure that the matter is properly investigated and the culprits are punished. In case of emergency or crisis, the Indian Mission/Post helps the Indian students stranded abroad by providing them food, accommodation, medicines and evacuating them to India as soon as possible.

Recently, stranded Indian students from countries across the world were brought to India through Vande Bharat Mission, Operation Ganga (Ukraine) and Operation Ajay (Israel). The return of many Indian students from Bangladesh was also facilitated by our High Commission. MEA further said that Indian missions abroad also encourage Indian students traveling abroad for post-graduate higher education to register and also try to connect with the MADAD portal so that their complaints and pending issues can be resolved in a timely manner.

The total number of Indian students pursuing higher education abroad is 1.33 million in 2024. MEA data presented in the Lok Sabha indicates that the number of Indian students studying abroad has increased in the last three years. This number was 0.75 million in 2022, which increased to 0.93 million in 2023 and is now 1.33 million. As of January 1 this year, MEA presented data about 13.35 lakh Indian students pursuing higher education in 101 countries. Of these, the highest number of 4.27 lakh students are studying in Canada, followed by 3.37 lakh students in the US, 1.85 lakh students in the UK. MEA’s response indicates that 2510 Indian students are still pursuing education in war-torn Ukraine.