Citizenship amendment bill introduced in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) The government on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha the Citizenship Amendment Bill which seeks to merge the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes.

The bill was introduced by Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary.

The government Thursday had withdrawn the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2014, introduced in the winter session, from Lok Sabha, saying that a fresh legislation would be brought soon.

The 2014 bill needed to be withdrawn since an ordinance was issued in Jan merging the PIO and OCI schemes.

The ordinance was promulgated in order to give PIOs benefits like life-long visa and exemption from appearing before the local police station on every visit.