Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, presenting citizenship certificate
TFP Bureau, New Delhi; May 16, 2024: The first batch of citizenship certificates under the newly notified Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were handed out on Wednesday. Union Home Secretary, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, presented citizenship certificates to selected applicants in New Delhi. During the ceremony, the Home Secretary extended congratulations to the recipients and outlined the key features of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Secretary of Posts, Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Registrar General of India, and other senior officials were also present during the interactive session.
The Government of India had announced the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 on March 11, 2024. These rules outline the application process, the role of District Level Committees (DLCs) in processing applications, and the scrutiny and granting of citizenship by State Level Empowered Committees (ECs). In line with these rules, applications were received from individuals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, who entered India by December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution or fear thereof.
The District Level Committees (DLCs), chaired by designated officers such as Senior Superintendents of Post or Superintendents of Post, administered the oath of allegiance to applicants upon successful document verification. Following the prescribed procedure, DLCs forwarded the applications to the State Level Empowered Committee, led by the Director of Census Operation.
The Empowered Committee in Delhi, headed by the Director of Census Operation, scrutinized the applications and approved citizenship for 14 individuals. Subsequently, the Director of Census Operation issued citizenship certificates to the approved applicants. All application processing was conducted through the online portal as per the regulations.
