SSC
Birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory are the five ways of acquiring:
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Answer: Option D — Indian citizenship
Detailed Solution
The Citizenship Act, 1955, passed by Parliament under Article 11, prescribes five ways of acquiring Indian citizenship:
By birth: A person born in India on or after 26 January 1950 but before 1 July 1987 is a citizen by birth, irrespective of the nationality of the parents. A person born between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004 is a citizen if at least one parent was an Indian citizen at the time of birth. A person born on or after 3 December 2004 is a citizen only if both parents are Indian citizens, or one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant.
By descent: A person born outside India can be a citizen by descent if one of the parents is an Indian citizen at the time of birth (subject to registration rules for those born after 1992 and 2004).
By registration: Certain persons can apply for citizenship by registration, such as persons of Indian origin who have lived in India for seven years, persons married to Indian citizens who have lived in India for seven years, and minor children of Indian citizens.
By naturalisation: A foreigner can acquire citizenship by naturalisation if he or she has lived in India for 12 years (11 years in the 14 years before applying, plus the 12 months immediately before), is of good character and fulfils other conditions. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, this residence requirement is reduced to five years for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.
By incorporation of territory: If any foreign territory becomes part of India, the Government of India specifies the persons of that territory who shall be citizens. For example, when Pondicherry became part of India (1962), and Goa, Daman and Diu (1961), their residents became Indian citizens.
The Act also provides three ways of losing citizenship:
- Renunciation: voluntarily giving up citizenship.
- Termination: automatically, when a citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country.
- Deprivation: by order of the government, for reasons such as fraud, disloyalty to the Constitution or trading with the enemy during war.
- Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) was introduced in 2005 for persons of Indian origin.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Voting rights depend on citizenship and age (18 years), not these five ways.
- ✗Domicile in a state is not a constitutional concept for citizenship in India.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗OCI is a separate status for persons of Indian origin, given by registration.
Quick tip
Remember: Citizenship Act 1955 = 5 ways to acquire (birth, descent, registration, naturalisation, incorporation of territory) and 3 ways to lose (renunciation, termination, deprivation); naturalisation = 12 years.
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Union, Territory & Citizenship — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Union, Territory & Citizenship, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers Part I and Part II of the Constitution: the Union and its territory (Articles 1-4), the formation and reorganisation of states, and the provisions on citizenship (Articles 5-11), including how citizenship is acquired and lost under the Citizenship Act, 1955. Questions commonly ask which article describes India as a 'Union of States' (Article 1), how Parliament can create new states (Article 3), and the five ways of acquiring citizenship (birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory). Remember that India provides for single citizenship. Practise the union, territory and citizenship questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.