UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Collectors empowered to grant citizenship under CAA

Question 1

Consider the following statements comparing the arrangement introduced by the Union Home Ministry's August 2026 order on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 with the arrangement it displaces:
1. The arrangement it displaces vested the final scrutiny of applications and the grant of citizenship in a State/Union Territory-level committee headed by the Director of Census Operations.
2. Under the new arrangement, processing passes to District Collectors, who are field officers posted in the States, even though the power to legislate on citizenship continues to vest in Parliament.
3. The new arrangement applies uniformly to every district of each State/Union Territory named in the order, including areas administered under the Sixth Schedule.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 2

Consider the following statements regarding how the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 treats the class of migrants specified in it, as compared with the position under the unamended Citizenship Act, 1955:
1. For this class, the aggregate period of residence required for naturalisation was reduced from eleven years to seven years.
2. Even before the 2019 amendment was enacted, members of this class had been exempted by executive notification from penal consequences under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
3. On acquiring citizenship, such a person is deemed to be a citizen from the date of entry into India, and pending legal proceedings regarding illegal migration or citizenship stand closed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 3

For the class of migrants specified in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the qualifying period of residence in India for naturalisation was reduced to how many years, from the number of years otherwise required under the Citizenship Act, 1955?

Accepted Answer

To five years, from eleven years

Answer

To five years, from fourteen years

Answer

To six years, from eleven years

Answer

To seven years, from twelve years

Question 4

Consider the following in respect of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024:
1. They were notified on 11 March 2024, more than four years after Parliament passed the parent amendment.
2. An application is submitted to the Empowered Committee through the designated District Level Committee, with the processing done through an online portal.
3. A successful applicant is issued a digital certificate, a hard copy being made available on request.
4. The applicant is required to appear in person before the Director of Census Operations to take the oath of allegiance.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as features of those Rules?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2, 3 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 5

Consider the following statements comparing the processing framework created by the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 with what preceded and what followed it:
1. Under those Rules, the grant of citizenship in a State or Union Territory rested with a committee of that State/Union Territory headed by the Director of Census Operations, and not with the Union Home Secretary.
2. The two-tier structure created by those Rules is, in the States and Union Territories covered by the August 2026 order, replaced by processing at a single district-level authority.
3. Those Rules were framed nearly four years after Parliament passed the amending Act they give effect to.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Question 6

Consider the following statements about the two committees prescribed under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024:
1. The District Level Committee is headed by the jurisdictional Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Post.
2. The oath of allegiance is administered by the Empowered Committee, the District Level Committee's role being confined to forwarding the documents received.
3. The Empowered Committee for a State or Union Territory is headed by the Director of Census Operations of that State or Union Territory.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 7

With reference to the machinery that operationalises the processing of applications under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, which one of the following statements is correct?

Accepted Answer

The District Level Committee verifies the documents and administers the oath, but the decision to grant citizenship is not taken at that level.

Answer

The recommendation of the District Level Committee is binding on the Empowered Committee in every case placed before it.

Answer

Every application must be scrutinised in person by the Union Home Secretary before any certificate of citizenship can be issued.

Answer

The Empowered Committee of a State or Union Territory is composed entirely of officers of the Department of Posts.

Question 8

Consider the following pairs of Articles in Part II of the Constitution of India and their subject matter:
1. Article 6 — Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan
2. Article 9 — Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens
3. Article 10 — Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law
4. Article 8 — Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

Question 9

Consider the following areas:
1. The tribal area of Karbi Anglong in Assam
2. The whole of Nagaland
3. The Garo Hills in Meghalaya
4. The areas of Jharkhand notified as Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as areas to which the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 do not extend?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

1, 2, 3 and 4

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Collectors empowered to grant citizenship under CAA

Q3. For the class of migrants specified in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the qualifying period of residence in India for naturalisation was reduced to how many years, from the number of years otherwise required under the Citizenship Act, 1955?

Q7. With reference to the machinery that operationalises the processing of applications under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, which one of the following statements is correct?