The New Indian Express News

No significant surge in deaths of Indians abroad; 5,897 mortal remains repatriated this year: Centre

NEW DELHI: The total number of cases involving deaths of Indian citizens working or residing abroad has he Centre on Friday told Parliament that deaths of Indian citizens working or living abroad have not witnessed any significant increase in recent years, and said 5,897 mortal remains were brought back to India between January and October this year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, responding in the Lok Sabha, was also asked whether the government tracks the time taken to repatriate mortal remains from various countries. The government attaches high priority to addressing and resolving issues affecting Indian nationals abroad, including cases of deaths, local cremation/burial and transportation of mortal remains to their hometowns in India, he said in a written response. The total number of cases involving deaths of Indian citizens working or residing abroad has not witnessed any significant increase in recent times, he said. In his response, the Union minister also shared a year-wise list of mortal remains of Indian nationals transported to India since 2016. According to the data, the number of mortal remains of Indian nationals transported to India this year till October stands at 5,897. The corresponding figures for other years stood at 4,167 (in 2016); 4,222 (2017); 4,205 (2018); 5,291 (2019); 5,321 (2020); 5,834 (2021); 5,946 (2022); 6,532 (2023) and 7,096 (in 2024). Jaishankar said the time taken for repatriation of mortal remains varies with several factors, including the cause of death, the country from where the mortal remains have to be transported, the distance of the country from India, domestic laws of the host country, employment status of the deceased, and the presence of the next of kin in the country, among others. The procedures will accordingly differ from country to country, depending on the regulations in the specific country. Therefore, no fixed time can be framed for eventual transportation of the mortal remains in death cases. Generally, the transportation of mortal remains is quicker in cases of natural deaths in comparison to the cases of unnatural deaths, he added.