Top Careers & You

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

The Union and its Territory

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. They are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Union Territories are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on. The constitutional provisions in this respect are: Article 1: Name and territory of the Union (1) India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. (2) The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First Schedule. (3) The territory of India shall comprise (a) (b) (c) the territories of the States; the Union territories specified in the First Schedule; and such other territories as may be acquired.

Article 2: Admission or establishment of new States Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. Article 2a: Sikkim to be associated with the Union Article 3: Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States Parliament may by law (a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of (b) (c) (d) (e) States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State; increase the area of any State; diminish the area of any State; alter the boundaries of any State; alter the name of any State:

Provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired. Article 4: Laws made under articles 2 and 3 to provide for the amendment of the First and the Fourth Schedule and supplemental, incidental and consequential matters (1) Any law referred to in article 2 or article 3 shall contain such provisions for the amendment of the First Schedule and the Fourth Schedule as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the law and may also contain such supplemental, incidental and consequential provisions (including provisions as to representation in Parliament and in the Legislature or Legislatures of the State or States affected by such law) as Parliament may deem necessary.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

(2) article 368. Political integration after independence and the Constitution of 1950

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

No such law as aforesaid shall be deemed to be in amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of

The British Indian Empire, which included present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, was divided into two types of territories: the Provinces of British India, which were governed directly by British officials responsible to the Governor-General of India; and princely states, under the rule of local hereditary rulers who recognised British suzerainty in return for local autonomy, in most cases as established by treaty. As a result of the reforms of the early 20th century, most of the British provinces had directly-elected legislatures as well as governors, although some of the smaller provinces were governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the Governor-General. Major reforms put forward by the British in the 1930s also recognised the principle of federalism, which was carried forward into the governance of independent India. On 15 August 1947, British India was granted independence as the separate dominions of India and Pakistan. The British dissolved their treaty relations with more than five hundred princely states, who were encouraged to accede to either India or Pakistan, while under no compulsion to do so. Most of the states acceded to India, and a few to Pakistan. Bhutan and Hyderabad opted for independence, although the armed intervention of India conquered Hyderabad and brought it into the Indian Union. Between 1947 and about 1950, the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. Most were merged into existing provinces; others were organised into new provinces, such as Rajputana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Bharat, and Vindhya Pradesh, made up of multiple princely states; a few, including Mysore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Bilaspur, became separate provinces. The Government of India Act 1935 remained the constitutional law of India pending adoption of a new Constitution. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was also declared to be a "Union of States". The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main types of states: Part A states, which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by an elected governor and state legislature. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh (formerly Central Provinces and Berar), Madras, Orissa, Punjab (formerly East Punjab), Uttar Pradesh (formerly the United Provinces), and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state, and an elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India. The Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and some princely states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh.

The sole Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The movement for linguistic states Political movements for the creation of new, linguistic-based states developed around India in the years after independence. The movement to create a Telugu-speaking state out of the northern portion of Madras State gathered strength in the years after independence, and in 1953, the 16 northern, Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State became the new State of Andhra.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

The Dhar and JVP committee

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

In 1948, the government appointed the Dhar commission to look into the demands of creation of states on linguistic basis. The Dhar commission, in its report, opposed any reorganisation of the states on linguistic basis. This came in for severe flak from all quarters including the Jaipur Congress. Further, the government now formed the 'JVP' committee. This committee had Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel and Dr Pattabhi Sitaramayya on the board. This committee took another look into the demands and came out with its report. The JVP report, however, favoured only the creation of the Andhra state on linguistic basis. Moreover, this committee propounded the concepts of security, unity and economic viability for formation of new states. States Reorganization Commission In December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganization Commission to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This was headed by Justice Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India's states. After 1956 The States Reorganization Act of 1956 abolished the British system of provinces and princely states. In its place, new states were drawn based on ethnicity and language. The former French and Portuguese colonies in India were incorporated into the Republic as the union territories of Pondicherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu in 1962. Several new states and union territories have been created out of existing states since 1956. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganization Act. Nagaland was made a state on 1 December 1963. The Punjab Reorganization Act of 1966 divided the Punjab along linguistic lines, creating a new Hindi-speaking state of Haryana on 1 November, transferring the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh, and designating Chandigarh, the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana, a union territory. Statehood was conferred upon Himachal Pradesh on 25 January 1971, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura on 21 January 1972 the Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union as a state on 26 April 1975. In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became states on 20 February, followed by Goa on 30 May, while Goa's northern exclaves of Daman and Diu became a separate union territory. In 2000 three new states were created; Chhattisgarh (1 November 2000) was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal (9 November 2000), since renamed Uttarakhand, was created out of the Hilly regions of northwest Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand (15 November 2000) was created out of the southern districts of Bihar. The Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry have since been given the right to elect their own legislatures and they are now counted as small states. Citizenship The Constitution of India provides for a single citizenship for the whole of India. The provisions relating to citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution are contained in Articles 5 to 11 in Part II of the Constitution. Every person who was at the commencement of the Constitution (26 January 1950) domiciled in the territory of India, and (a) who was born in India, or (b) either of whose parents was born in India, or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in India for not less than five years, became a citizen of India. The Citizenship Act, 1955 deals with matters relating to acquisition, determination and termination of Indian citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

Modes of acquiring Indian citizenship: 1) By Birth
th st

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

A person born in India on or after 26 January 1950 but before 1 July 1987 is a citizen of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of his parents. A person born in India on or after 1 July 1987 is considered as a citizen of India only if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth. Further, those born in India on or after 7th January 2004 are considered citizens of India only if both of their parents are citizens of India or one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of their birth. 2) By Descent
th th st

A person born outside India on or after 26 January 1950 but before 10 December 1992 is a citizen of India by descent, if his father was a citizen of India at the time of his birth. A person born outside India on or after 10th December 1992 is considered as a citizen of India if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth. From 07 January 2004, a person born outside India shall not be a citizen of India by virtue of this Section, unless his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of the date of birth or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period. An application, for registration of the birth of a minor child, to an Indian consulate under Section 4(1) shall be made in Form I and shall be accompanied by an undertaking in writing from the parents of such minor child that he or she does not hold the passport of another country. 3) a. By Registration
th

Citizenship of India by registration can be acquired by persons of Indian origin, who or either of whose parents was born in undivided India and who are ordinarily resident in India for seven years; b. persons of India origin who are ordinarily residents in any country or place outside undivided India; c. persons who are or have been married to a citizen of India and who are ordinarily resident in India for five years;

d. minor children both whose parents are Indian citizens; e. a citizen of Singapore and Canada who is resident in India for five years and eight years respectively. 4) By Naturalisation

Citizenship of India by naturalisation can be acquired by a foreigner who is ordinarily resident in India for twelve years (continuously for the twelve months preceding the date of application and for eleven years in the aggregate in the fourteen years preceding the twelve months). 5) Citizenship by Incorporation of Territory If any territory becomes a part of India, the Central Government, may by orders notified in the Official Gazette, specify the persons who shall be citizens of India by reasons of their connection with that territory, and those persons shall be citizens of India as from the date to be specified in the order. Loss of Indian Citizenship Any citizen can lose Indian citizenship by four methods: 1) By Termination

Citizenship is terminated either by renunciation or acquisition of citizenship of another country.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

2) By Renunciation

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

If any citizen of India of full age and capacity, who is also a citizen or national of another country, makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship; the declaration shall be registered by the prescribed authority, and upon such registration, that person shall cease to be a citizen of Indian. Provided that if any such declaration is made during any war in which India may be engaged, registration thereof shall be withheld until the Central government otherwise directs. Where a person ceases to be a citizen of India every minor child of that person shall thereupon cease to be a citizen of India, provided that any such child may, within one year after attaining full age, make a declaration that he wishes to resume Indian citizenship and shall thereupon again become a citizen of India. For the purpose of this section, any woman who is, or has been, married shall be deemed to be of full age. 3) By Acquisition of citizenship of some other nation Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires, or has at any time between the 26th January 1950 and the commencement of this Act voluntarily acquired, the citizenship of another country, cease to be a citizen of India. However, this does not apply to a citizen of India, during any war in which India may be engaged, voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, until the Central Government otherwise directs. If any question arises as to whether, when or how any person has acquired the citizenship of another country, it shall be determined by such authority, in such manner, and having regard to such rules of evidence, as may be prescribed in this behalf. 4) By Deprivation The Central government under section 10 of the Indian citizenship Act, 1955 deprives any citizen of Indian Citizenship if it is satisfied thata. the registration or certificate of naturalization was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact; or b. that citizen has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards the Constitution c. of India as by law established; or that citizen has, during the war in which India may be engaged, unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy or been engaged in or associated with, any business that was to his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist any enemy in that war; or d. that citizen has, within five years after registration or naturalization, been sentenced in any country to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or e. That citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for a continuos period of seven years, and during that period, has neither been at any time a student of any educational institution in a country outside India or in the service of a Government of India or of an International organization of which India is a member, nor registered annually in the prescribed manner at an Indian consulate his intention to retain his citizenship of India. The Central Government shall not deprive a person of citizenship unless it is satisfied that it is not conducive to the public good that person should continue to be a citizen of India. Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme In response to persistent demands for "dual citizenship" particularly from the Diaspora in North America and other developed countries and keeping in view the Governments deep commitment towards fulfilling the aspirations and expectations of Overseas Indians, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005. The Scheme was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 2006 at Hyderabad. The Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or there after or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 except who is or had been a f.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. OCI is not to be misconstrued as dual citizenship. OCI does not confer political rights. The registered Overseas Citizens of India shall not be entitled to the rights conferred on a citizen of India under article 16 of the Constitution with regard to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. The OCI documents consist of OCI Registration Booklet and a Universal visa sticker. It is mandatory for registered OCIs to carry their passports which carry the Universal visa sticker for entry into / exit from India. A registered Overseas Citizen of India is granted multiple entry, multi purpose, life-long visa for visiting India, he/she is exempted from registration with Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India, and is entitled to general parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. Specific benefits/parity is notified by the Ministry from time to time. OCIs enjoy the benefits mentioned under: a. Parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children ; b. Parity with resident Indian nationals in matters of tariffs in domestic air fares ; c. Parity with domestic Indian visitors in respect of entry fee for visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India ; d. Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of: i. Entry fees for visiting the national monuments, historical sites and museums in India; ii. Practicing the following professions in India, in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts, namely: Doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists; Advocates; Architects; and Chartered Accountants; and e. Entitlement to appear for the All India Pre-Medical Test or such other tests to make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts. Registration of overseas citizens of India The overseas Indian citizenship (OIC) scheme has been put on hold till further orders. No applications for grant of OIC may be filed. Revised procedure and forms shall be posted in due course. Eligibility: The Central Government on application made in this behalf may register any person as an overseas citizen of India if: (a) that person is of Indian origin of full age and capacity who is a citizen of a specified country; (b) that a person is of full age and capacity who has obtained the citizenship of a specified country on or after the commencement of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 and who was a citizen of India immediately before such commencement; (c) the person registered as an overseas citizen of India shall be an overseas citizen of India as from the date4 on which he is so registered. No person who has been deprived of his Indian citizenship under this Act shall be registered as an overseas citizen of India except by an order of the Central Government. For this purpose, the expression Persons of Indian origin shall mean a citizen of another country who: (i) was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the commencement of the Constitution; (ii) belonged to a territory that become part of India after the 15th day of August 1947; and (iii) the children and grand-children of a person covered under clauses (i) and (ii), but does not include a person who is or had been at any time a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

Specified Countries The 16 specified countries for which overseas citizenship is available are:1. Australia 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Canada Finland France Greece Ireland Israel Italy Netherlands New Zealand Portugal Republic of Cyprus Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States of America

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

Person of Indian Origin (PIO) A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) is usually a person of Indian origin who is not a citizen of India. For the purposes of issuing a PIO Card, the Indian government considers anyone of Indian origin up to four generations removed to be a PIO, with the exception of those who were ever nationals of: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. The prohibited list periodically includes Iran as well. Spouses of people entitled to a PIO card in their own right can also carry PIO cards. This latter category includes foreign spouses of Indian nationals, regardless of ethnic origin as long as they were not born in, or ever nationals of, the aforementioned prohibited countries. PIO Cards exempt holders from many restrictions applying to foreign nationals, such as visa and work permit requirements, along with certain other economic limitations. The NRI and PIO population across the world is estimated at over 30 million. As per a UNDP's 2010 report, after China, India has the largest diaspora in the world, estimated at 25 million, besides being one of the largest "sending" nations in Asia, with an emigration rate of 0.8% out of which, 72% work in other Asian countries. Also, as per UNESCO Institute for Statistics the number of Indian students abroad tripled from 51,000 in 1999 to over 153,000 in 2007, making India second after China among the worlds largest sending countries for tertiary students. Since 2003, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-resident India Day) sponsored by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, is being celebrated on 9 January each year in India, to "mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India". The day commemorate the arrival of Mahatama Gandhi in India from South Africa, and during three-day convention held around the day, a forum for issues concerning the Indian Diaspora is held and the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards are given away. As of January 2006, The Indian government has introduced the "Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)" scheme to allow a limited form of dual citizenship to Indians, NRIs and PIOs for the first time since independence in 1947. The PIO Card scheme is expected to be phased out in coming years in favour of OCI. Persons of Indian Origin Card (PIO Card) is a form of identification issued to a Person of Indian Origin who holds a passport in another country other than Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com

Top Careers & You

The conditions for issuing a PIO card are:

General Studies
The Union and its Territory

1. person at any time held an Indian passport or; 2. person's parents or grandparents or great-grandparents were born in and permanent residents in India, but never moved to (i.e. were nationals of) Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or; 3. person is spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin as per above. 4. person and his/her parents, grand parents or great grand parents must not have been a national of the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka at any point of time. The PIO Card Program came into effect on 15 September 2002. The various benefits are available to PIO cardholders: No visa required for visiting India during the period of validity of PIO Card. Exemption from the requirement of registration if stay in India does not exceed 6 months. Should the continuous stay exceed six months, registration will be required within 30 days of the expiry of six months with the concerned Foreigners Registration Officer. Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of facilities available to the latter in economic, financial and educational fields. All facilities in the matter of acquisition, holding, transfer and disposal of immovable properties in India except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural/plantation properties. Facilities available to children of Non Resident Indians for getting admission to educational institutions in India including medical colleges, engineering colleges, Institutes of Technology, Institutes of Management etc. under the general categories. Facilities available under the various housing schemes of LIC, State Governments and other Government agencies. allowed to vote eligible for an inner line permit. They have to apply for a Protected area permit.

Persons with a PIO are not

_________________________________________________________________________________
any exam easily with TCY Analytics at TCYonline.com