SRINAGAR: As many as 487 nurses from Jammu and Kashmir were granted emigration clearance for overseas employment in 2025, up from 354 in 2023, while one nurse from Ladakh received such clearance last year, according to data presented in the Rajya Sabha.
The figures were provided by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda in a written reply to Starred Question No. 30, raised by Shri Rajinder Gupta, and answered on 21 July 2026.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s statement, the number of emigration clearances granted to nurses from Jammu and Kashmir rose from 354 in 2023 to 474 in 2024 and 487 in 2025. Ladakh recorded no such clearance in 2023 and 2024, followed by one in 2025.
The data also showed that Jammu and Kashmir had 5,264 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and 4,859 Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (RN and RM), with no Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) listed. However, the Ministry noted that the JK registration figures were available only up to 31 December 2021, making them older than the figures for most other States and Union Territories.
At the national level, India had 10,59,246 registered ANMs, 34,87,731 RN and RMs and 55,156 LHVs as of the latest dates available in the State-wise data. The figures were sourced from the respective State Nurses Registration Councils.
The parliamentary reply also cited the nurse-population ratio raised in the question, stating that India’s ratio is about 1.96 nurses per 1,000 population, compared with the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of 3 nurses per 1,000 population.
Among States and Union Territories, Kerala recorded the highest number of emigration clearances for nurses in each of the three years, with 9,980 in 2023, 8,572 in 2024 and 6,393 in 2025. Tamil Nadu followed with 4,436, 3,736 and 3,036 respectively.
The Ministry’s response covered questions on the number of nurses trained and registered, overseas emigration clearances, the impact of nurse migration on the public health system and any proposal to revise minimum wages or remuneration for nurses in public and private healthcare establishments. The detailed annexures supplied with the reply specifically provided State/UT-wise registration and overseas emigration-clearance data.
