Center Issues First set of Citizenship Certificates to 14 People under CAA

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued the first set of citizenship certificates to 14 people under the Citizenship Amendment Act, marking the beginning of the process to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla presented the certificates to the recipients, whose applications had been processed through an online portal designated for this purpose. "The first set of citizenship certificates after notification of Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were issued today. Union Home Secretary Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over citizenship certificates to some applicants in New Delhi today. The Home Secretary congratulated the applicants and highlighted salient features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Secretary Posts, Director (IB), Registrar General of India and senior officers were also present during the interactive session," said the Home Ministry in statement. 

The CAA, passed in December 2019, aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants who arrived in India from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. This includes Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians. Following its enactment, the CAA received presidential assent, but the rules governing the grant of Indian citizenship were only issued on March 11 this year, after a delay of over four years.

Under the new rules, the District Level Committee (DLC) is authorized to accept applications from eligible individuals for Indian citizenship. These applications are then scrutinized by the State Level Empowered Committee before citizenship is granted. The ministry stated that applications have been received from members of Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who faced persecution on religious grounds and entered India by December 31st, 2014.