"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 10th day of January 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force", a Gazette notification issued by Ministry of Home affairs read.
The Bill, which seeks to provide citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs,Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and entered India on or before 31 December 2014 following their prosecutions on religious grounds, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 11 and subsequently given assent by President Ram Nath Kovind.