Parliament passes Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Parliament has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015. It was passed by Rajya Sabha on 4 March and earlier by Lok Sabha on 2 March 2015.
This bill will replace an ordinance promulgated in this regard and amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Key provisions of the bill

• The Bill mergers of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes.
• It also adds that the Union government may notify that Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cardholders shall be considered to be Overseas Citizen of India card holder.
• It also provides 30-day break to person who applies for Indian citizenship if they have to leave India for some time.
• It gives power to Union government to cancel the OCI card obtained by the spouse of an Indian citizen if the marriage is dissolved by a court or the spouse enters into another marriage even while the first marriage has not been dissolved.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2015