NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said that the government has decided to extend the last date for applying for conversion of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards to Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards from June 30 to December 31.
“I feel that the coversion will not be completed by June 30. So we have decided to extend the last date to December 31,” she told reporters at her annual press conference.
The government had earlier granted an extension from March 31 to June 30 this year.
“There will be no charge for conversion during this period. So I will suggest those, who are seeking to convert their PIO cards to OCI cards, use this time line. I want this conversion to be completed by December 31,” she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the PIO and OCI cards will be merged and the Indian diaspora will be given maximum possible benefits.
Officials said that simultaneous existence of PIO and OCI cards lead to confusion among People of Indian Origin residing abroad.
IANS