Two-fold jump in NRIs registering as voters: Govt and EC data

The issue of voting by NRIs in Indian elections is being debated again with the government moving a bill in the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting rights to them on the lines of service voters. The number of NRIs registering themselves as ‘overseas electors’ has seen a two-fold jump in the last three years, latest government and EC data show. The figure, however, is far too less when compared to the number of Indians living abroad and entitled to vote here.