25,000 Indians, Including Students, Died Abroad In Last Three Years, RTI Response Reveals

The number of students going abroad for studies has been steadily increasing, reaching 8,94,783 last year.

A total of 24,278 Indians residing abroad have died over the past three years.

Source : ABPLIVE_AI

Brain Drain: Over the past three years, a total of 24,278 Indians, including students, residing abroad died because of various reasons, the reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed. Sharing the statistics, the Ministry of External Affairs' Diaspora Engagement Division, in response to an application filed by RTI Activist Dr Vivek Pandey, revealed that as many as 1,622 of these 24,278 Indian, including students, died in traffic-related incidents, while 686 died from "occupational hazards", 1,763 from suicide, and 136 due to violent acts or murder.  

Recently, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed the House that as many as 8,94,783 students went abroad for higher education last year. 

Every year, many students head for foreign shores to pursue higher studies in various fields including medicine, business, engineering, computer science, and hospitality, with medicine being one of the most popular choices.

Number Of Students Going Abroad For Studies Is Ever Increasing   

On the growing trend of students going abroad to study medicine, Dr Vivek Pandey told ABP Live: "One effective way to address this issue is by reducing the fees of private medical colleges (in India). Many high-achieving students, who score between 550 and 600 marks, are compelled to study abroad due to the prohibitive fees of up to Rs 1 crore at private institutions in India."

Dr Pandey said though Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in 2022 that 50% of the seats in private medical colleges for NEET UG and PG courses should be offered at the same fee structure as government medical colleges, this promise is yet to be implemented. 

According to the Ministry of Education, as many as 3,69,876 students travelled overseas in 2016, and the number increased to 4,55,072 in 2017, and further rising to 5,18,787 in 2018. The upward trend continued with 5,87,313 students going abroad in 2019.

The year 2020, however, saw a sharp decline to 2,60,363, likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The numbers rebounded in 2021 with 4,45,582 students going abroad, followed by a substantial increase to 7,52,111 in 2022, and 8,94,783 in 2023. As of July 20, this year, a total of 3,60,588 students have already gone abroad for studies.