(Image source from: Little India)

More than 200 Indians surrendered their citizenship in the year 2018, according to the Union Home Ministry. The number of citizens who gave up their citizenship in the year 2018 is higher than the combined previous ten years.

According to a report in The Hindu, since 2010, as many as 290 Indians gave up their citizenship. Out of the 290 citizens, 207 gave up their citizenship in the year 2018 itself.

The data, accessed by The Hindu through the Right to Information Act, revealed that from the year 2012 to 2015, no Indian gave up their citizenship. In 2010, three Indians had renounced their citizenship, said the report.

The English daily quoted a senior government official saying that economic reasons are the main reason why these Indians gave up their citizenship.

“Total 290 are the persons who have renounced Indian citizenship as per Rule 23 of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, under Section 8 of the Citizenship Act, from January 1, 2010, to October 22, 2018,” was the Ministry's reply to the Hindu newspaper's question under the Right to Information Act.

In the year 2016 and 2017, the number of Indian citizens who gave up their citizenship was 19 and 60. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in its response that since 23, 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs stopped preserving the data on this subject as it fell outside its ambit.

By Sowmya Sangam