India has signed 31 bilateral pacts on transfer of sentenced persons: Govt

India has signed 31 bilateral agreements on transfer of sentenced persons by virtue of which the Indian prisoners lodged in foreign countries can be transferred to India to serve the remainder of their sentence and vice-versa, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in the Rajya Sabha.

He was asked whether the government has put in place a robust mechanism to transfer the Indians languishing in jail in foreign countries to India so that they can serve the remaining sentence in the country.

"The government attaches high priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indians in foreign countries, including those in foreign jails," he said.

The minister said India has "signed 31 bilateral Agreements on Transfer of Sentenced Persons by virtue of which Indian prisoners lodged in foreign countries can be transferred to India to serve the remainder of their sentence and vice-versa".

These are Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Estonia, France, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkiye, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UK and Vietnam.

In response to a separate query, the Union minister shared data on year-wise departure of persons (Indian nationals) from 2019 to 2024.

In 2019, the figures stood at 2,69,15,147 while in 2024 (till December 8), the figures were 2,91,38,915, as per the data shared.

In a separate query, he was also asked the number of Indian citizens who have been arrested or detained for illegal migration to foreign countries in the last five years.

The government "does not have specific data on the number of Indian nationals arrested or detained in foreign countries for illegal migration as many countries do not share such information due to prevailing privacy laws", Singh said in his response.

In another query, he was asked about the actions the government is taking to strengthen national defence in light of recent global security challenges.

"The ensuring of India's national security is the result of cumulative and coordinated endeavours of many parts of the government," he added.