As many as 403 Indian students studying abroad have died since 2018 and the reasons include natural causes, accidents and medical conditions, government data revealed.
Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs V Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, “403 incidents of death of Indian students abroad have been reported since 2018.” Various reasons for the death include “natural causes, accidents and medical conditions”. The minister also shared country-wise details of Indian student deaths abroad since 2018.
Canada topped the chart with 91 deaths reported since 2018, followed by the United Kingdom with 48 deaths, Russia with 40 deaths, the United States of America (USA) with 36 deaths and Australia with 35 deaths.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Subhas Sarkar informed the Lok Sabha on December 4, 2023, that “the number of Indians who are studying abroad is approximately 13 lakh”. Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand have emerged as popular destinations for Indian students, the IDP says.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier shared estimated data of Indian students studying abroad in 2022. As per the report, as many as 1,83,310 Indian students were studying in Canada in 2022, 55,465 students in the UK, 18,039 in Russia, 4,65,791 in the USA and 1,00,009 in Australia.
Here are the “country-wise details of the death of Indian students abroad since 2018”:
| S. No | Country | No. of incidents of death |
| 1 | Australia | 35 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 4 |
| 3 | Belgium | 1 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 1 |
| 5 | Canada | 91 |
| 6 | China | 9 |
| 7 | Cyprus | 14 |
| 8 | Czech Republic | 3 |
| 9 | Egypt | 3 |
| 10 | Finland | 4 |
| 11 | France | 4 |
| 12 | Germany | 20 |
| 13 | Guyana | 1 |
| 14 | Italy | 10 |
| 15 | Kazakhstan | 5 |
| 16 | Kenya | 1 |
| 17 | Korea (ROK) | 3 |
| 18 | Kyrgyzstan | 9 |
| 19 | Malta | 1 |
| 20 | Norway | 1 |
| 21 | Pakistan | 1 |
| 22 | Philippines | 10 |
| 23 | Qatar | 9 |
| 24 | Romania | 2 |
| 25 | Russia | 40 |
| 26 | South Africa | 1 |
| 27 | Spain | 3 |
| 28 | Suriname | 3 |
| 29 | Sweden & Latvia | 2 |
| 30 | Switzerland | 1 |
| 31 | Taiwan | 6 |
| 32 | Ukraine | 21 |
| 33 | U.K. | 48 |
| 34 | USA | 36 |
| Total | 403 |
What is govt doing to ensure the safety of Indian students studying abroad?
In his reply to the Rajya Sabha question, Muraleedharan said the safety and security of Indian students abroad is one of the foremost priorities for India. “Heads of Mission/Post and senior officials visit Universities and educational institutions for regular interactions with Indian students and student associations,” he added.
Muraleedharan said India’s missions and posts remain vigilant and closely monitor the well-being of students. “In case there is any untoward incident, it is immediately taken up with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure that the incident is properly investigated and the perpetrators are punished,” he added.
“Further, the distressed Indian students are provided all possible consular assistance, including emergency medical care and boarding/lodging, whenever required,” Muraleedharan said.
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Published: 07 Dec 2023, 08:55 PM IST