New Delhi, May 29: The Union government has commenced the process of granting citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in West Bengal, Haryana, and Uttarakhand, according to a statement from the Home Ministry on Wednesday. The respective State Empowered Committees granted citizenship to applicants in these states.

The initial set of citizenship certificates, following the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, were distributed by the Empowered Committee in Delhi. These certificates were handed over to the applicants in New Delhi by the Union Home Secretary on May 15.

Enacted in December 2019, the CAA provides Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. While the CAA received presidential assent shortly after its enactment, the rules governing the granting of Indian citizenship were only issued on March 11, following a delay of over four years.