New OCI portal to boost digital governance, says PM Modi

The new OCI portal with improved functionality marks a "major step forward" in boosting citizen-friendly digital governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday

New Delhi: The new OCI portal with improved functionality marks a “major step forward” in boosting citizen-friendly digital governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

The revamped portal of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) with an up-to-date user interface to make registration of Indian-origin people seamless was launched earlier in the day by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

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“With enhanced features and improved functionality, the new OCI Portal marks a major step forward in boosting citizen-friendly digital governance,” Modi said on X, sharing a post by Shah.

The OCI scheme was introduced in 2005. It provides for registration as OCI all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on January 26, 1950, or thereafter or were eligible to become citizens on January 26, 1950, or their descendants.

“Today, launched the revamped OCI portal with an up-to-date user interface to make registration of overseas citizens seamless. The new features will include improved functionality, enhanced security, and a user-friendly experience,” Shah said in his post.

The revamped OCI portal is accessible at ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI, he added.

No person who or either of whose parents or grandparents or great-grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, or such other country, as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify, shall be eligible for registration as an OCI cardholder.