The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has clarified that an Indian passport is primarily a travel document issued to regulate the departure of citizens and is not intended as proof of citizenship. This statement comes amidst a debate on its use for verifying citizenship, particularly concerning electoral rolls, and has drawn criticism from opposition parties.
Government sources have clarified that a passport has never been considered proof of citizenship in India, a stance consistent for the past 12 years and rooted in the Passport Act 1967. This clarification, reiterated by the Ministry of External Affairs, has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and public figures.
Amid the passport row, Shashi Tharoor has proposed legal changes to simplify proof of Indian citizenship.
Police in Bihar's East Champaran district have arrested a Swiss woman and a Myanmarese boy for illegally entering India from Nepal without valid travel documents. Legal action is underway, though their identities remain undisclosed.
Hyderabad police apprehended seven Bangladeshi nationals, including four women, for illegally residing in India without valid documents. The individuals, some living in India for years, were found in a rented house in Jeedimetla and were working petty jobs. Their deportation process has been initiated.
A clarification by the ministry of external affairs that the passport is not a proof of citizenship has once again brought to the fore the need for a legal framework to provide citizens with a single document to establish they are Indians.
Many of them travelled to Delhi in groups or connected with other participants through WhatsApp groups and activist networks. These networks helped them coordinate their travel, decide meeting points and stay in touch during the protest.
An Afghan national has been arrested at Goa International Airport for allegedly travelling on fraudulently obtained passports while impersonating an Indian citizen.
Understand your travel insurance policy before travelling abroad this summer. This article outlines what travel insurance covers, including trip cancellations, missed connections, and medical emergencies, and what it excludes, such as war-related disruptions and pre-existing conditions.
The handover is expected to be coordinated through the Dawki-Tamabil sector, where Indian and Bangladeshi border agencies regularly conduct such transfers.
'The order has no practical effect unless and until he chooses to enter Singapore.'
"The government's claims of democracy in the context of Jammu and Kashmir are hollow and baseless," Geelani said.
Bharti Yadav, key witness in the Nitish Katara murder case, has been issued travel documents by the government to enable her to come to India from Britain for giving evidence in the case on November 29.
A special court in Mumbai has denied Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, permission to travel to Spain and the United Kingdom, citing concerns about her being a flight risk and the trial nearing its conclusion.
Tax treatment depends on the activity and manner of earning income.
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Friday said the mere absence of a train ticket on the body of a deceased passenger cannot be a ground to deny compensation to the victim's family in a railway-accident case.
Debosmita Paul, an assistant professor at Shivaji College, was found dead in her flat at Satyam Apartments in east Delhi's Vasundhara Enclave on June 3.
The family of an Indian seafarer, Rakesh Chauhan, who died in Venezuela, has called for a high-level investigation after a post-mortem in Uttar Pradesh revealed several internal organs were missing from his repatriated body. The Federation of Seafarers' Unions of India has also demanded accountability from Venezuelan authorities and intervention from the Indian Embassy, citing a lack of transparency and official documents regarding his death.
External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Saturday defended herself against allegations of helping former IPL chief Lalit Modi saying she never requested or recommended travel documents for him.
A sensational New York Times report alleging that Israel's Mossad secretly groomed former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lead a post-Islamic Republic Iran is being scrutinised for its strategic timing amidst Iran's sensitive post-Khamenei transition.
A police team in Kochi intervened to help a NEET candidate who was about to be denied entry to her examination centre due to a missing passport-size photograph. Their timely action, involving contacting a studio owner on a Sunday, ensured the student could sit for the crucial medical entrance test.
Two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district for entering India without valid travel documents. A local driver was also apprehended for allegedly facilitating their illegal entry.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Sunday said two more parliamentarians were set to join the dissident group, which would take its strength in the Lok Sabha to 22.
The latest revelations emerged during the interrogation of hotel owner Lavkesh Bajaj and accountant Jai Mishra, both of whom were arrested in connection with the June 3 fire at the Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani that claimed 21 lives.
An Afghan national was arrested in West Bengal's Nadia district for allegedly entering India from Bangladesh without valid documents. The individual was apprehended by the Border Security Force (BSF) near the Fatepur border area and handed over to local police for further investigation.
Investigators have revealed that the pilot of a small plane that crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper, the CITIC Tower, suffered from long-term anxiety and had expressed suicidal thoughts in his diaries. The incident, which killed the pilot and injured 13 others, has raised significant security concerns in the highly sensitive Chinese capital, especially given strict airspace regulations.
Investigators have revealed that the pilot of a small plane that crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper, the CITIC Tower, suffered from long-term anxiety and had expressed suicidal thoughts in his diaries. The incident, which killed the pilot and injured 13 others, has raised significant security concerns in the highly sensitive Chinese capital, especially given strict airspace regulations.
Two Bangladeshi women were arrested in Delhi for illegally residing in the city without valid documents. Police acted on a tip-off and initiated deportation proceedings.
Asus has expanded its Chromebook range in India with the launch of the Chromebook CM32 Detachable, Chromebook CM14 and Chromebook CM15. Among the new models, the Chromebook CM32 Detachable stands out as a versatile 2-in-1 device that can be used as both a laptop and a tablet.
'What struck me at the time was simply the scale of it -- that something of this magnitude could be unfolding inside the Ram temple itself.' 'It was bewildering. And what troubled me further was the manner in which people were shielding it.'
The IRCTC has fined a catering firm Rs 1 lakh and issued a show-cause notice for licence termination after a passenger found a fly in his meal on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Rajdhani Express. The firm, Araha Hospitality Pvt Ltd, was warned for lapses in meal preparation and packaging, and instructed to improve hygiene and quality control to prevent future incidents.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has acquired a 10 acre plot in Assam, paving the way for construction of the first Sri Venkateswara temple in North East India.
At Kolga Aabla, the closest beach to her grandmother's home, at the edge of a birch forest, we immersed her balance ashes. It was a sombre, precious day for both of us. But a day that also brought long-needed closure. My mother's spirit, chained for so many years in a Parkinson's-locked body, was free. But my father came back from the beach a visibly older man.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are reportedly heading to Switzerland for a new round of US-Iran negotiations, following a recently announced memorandum of understanding to end hostilities in West Asia and a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Supreme Court has granted four weeks of protection from arrest to Bihar-based contractor Rishu Shree, who is accused of acting as a middleman in government tender manipulation. Shree is alleged to have charged commissions to facilitate contracts, with the Enforcement Directorate investigating a "larger conspiracy" involving multiple Bihar departments.
The Gujarat High Court has upheld the death sentences for 38 Indian Mujahideen operatives and life imprisonment for 11 others involved in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts, which killed 56 people. The court also directed the state government to pay significant compensation to victims' families and those grievously injured.
Indian table tennis star Manika Batra has threatened legal action against the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) if she is not provided a 'factual explanation' for her omission from the Asian Games squad.
Delhi Police arrested ten Bangladeshi nationals for illegally staying in India after their medical visas expired. They were apprehended during a verification drive and deportation proceedings have begun.
The 'Return to Play Post-Pregnancy Guidelines' for female cricketers, outline a six 'R's framework: Ready, Review, Restore, Recondition, Return and Refine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is on a state visit to Pakistan to discuss the full implementation of an agreement signed between Iran and the US, alongside regional and international developments. The visit also aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various sectors, following recent high-level talks between the US and Iran in Switzerland regarding regional security.
