Who among the following presidents of India gave assent to the 100th Amendment of the Constitution of India?

The correct answer is B, 1 July 1987. The amendment of 1986 changed the rule of citizenship by birth with effect from 1 July 1987: a person born in India on or after that date is a citizen by birth only if one of the parents was an Indian citizen at the time of the birth. Option A is wrong because for births from 26 January 1950 to 30 June 1987 the place of birth alone was enough and the nationality of the parents was irrelevant. Option C is wrong because 3 December 2004 marks the next and stricter stage, under which a person born in India is a citizen only if both parents are citizens, or one is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant. Option D is wrong because 31 December 2014 is the cut-off date of entry under the amendment of 2019 and has nothing to do with citizenship by birth.

The correct answer is B, Britain. India follows the British practice of single citizenship: there is only citizenship of India and no separate citizenship of a state, so every citizen carries the same rights in every part of the country. From Britain India also took parliamentary government, the rule of law, single citizenship, the legislative procedure and the office of the Speaker. Option A is wrong because the United States has double citizenship, of the federation and of the state, along with fundamental rights, judicial review and the impeachment procedure that India did borrow. Option C is wrong because from Canada India took a federation with a strong centre, residuary powers with the Union and the appointment of state Governors. Option D is wrong because from Ireland India took the Directive Principles, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha and the method of electing the President.

The correct answer is B, 31 December 2014. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 shall not be treated as illegal migrants and are eligible for citizenship, with the qualifying period for naturalisation reduced from eleven years to five. The rules for making such applications were notified in 2024. Option A is wrong because 3 December 2004 is the date from which the stricter rule of citizenship by birth applies, requiring both parents to be citizens or one to be a citizen and the other not an illegal migrant. Option C is wrong because no such cut-off appears in the Act. Option D is wrong because the year of enactment is 2019 but the cut-off date of entry is five years earlier.

The correct answer is C, 2015. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2015 merged the older Person of Indian Origin card scheme into the Overseas Citizen of India scheme, so that holders of PIO cards were treated as OCI cardholders and only one category remained. Option A is wrong because the 2003 amendment introduced the concept of the illegal migrant and provided for a national register of citizens, not the merger. Option B is wrong because 2005 is the year the OCI scheme itself was introduced, giving foreign nationals of Indian origin a lifelong visa and parity with non-resident Indians in most economic matters, although not the right to vote or to hold constitutional office. Option D is wrong because the 2019 amendment deals with eligibility for citizenship of six specified communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.

The correct answer is A, the Union List. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens form an entry in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule, so only Parliament can make law on them, which matches Article 11 and explains why there is a single central Citizenship Act and no state citizenship law. Option B is wrong because the State List contains subjects such as public order, police, local government, public health and agriculture, and a state legislature cannot grant or take away citizenship. Option C is wrong because the Concurrent List contains subjects such as criminal law, marriage and divorce, education and forests, on which both Parliament and the state legislatures may legislate. Option D is wrong because citizenship is expressly enumerated and is therefore not a residuary subject; residuary powers, which also belong to Parliament, cover only matters not listed in any of the three lists.