President Mukherjee Clears Citizenship Ordinance, Merges PIO and OCI Schemes

[caption id="attachment_1995" align="alignleft" width="300"] President Mukherjee Signed Ordinance for Amendment in Indian Citizenship Act. | Image Credit: ibnlive.in.com[/caption]

President Pranab Mukherjee has passed the ordinance to merge PIO and OCI schemes. The amendment in the Indian Citizenship Act came prior to the start of Parvasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujarat.

The PIOs will now be eligible for a life-long visa and will be exempted from reporting to the police after every 6 months of stay in the country. They will not be required to register with the FRO/FRRO for their stay exceeding six months.

The amendment came into force after Prime Minister Narendra Modi address to the Indian Diaspora on his visit to the US. Request and representations for large number of Indian Diaspora living in the US, Canada, Australia, and different parts of the world also led the government to take a stand on the issue.

UPA Government in 2013 first introduced The Citizen Amendment Bill Act of 1955. According to the news published in The Indian Express, this is the ninth ordinance promulgated by the new government since it took charge in May 2014.

This news comes as a relief to the Persons of Indian Origins who often visited their homeland India, but had to face reporting and other issues in the country.

Source: The Indian Express