Finance Ministry clears rumors around KYC forms asking Indian citizens to declare religon

On Saturday, the Central government cleared further air around citizenship and rumors surrounding it. Recently, reports had surfaced which spoke about how Indian Citizens would have to now declare their religion in the 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) forms of all the bank accounts. The Department of Financial Services at the Ministry of Finance dispelled such baseless rumors informing the citizens that there is no such requirement. 

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"There is no requirement for the Indian citizens to declare their religion for opening/existing bank account or for KYC," Rajeev Kumar, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, tweeted."Do not fall for baseless rumors about any such move by banks," he added.

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According to a media report that surfaced, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians refugees -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan holding long-term visas (LTVs) -- will have to disclose their religion in the bank's KYC forms. This means that the 'persecuted minorities'  on the other hand and not the citizens of any particular religion, will have to disclose all information regarding their stay, their visas, etc. 

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Govt releases FAQ on CAA & NRC to allay rumors

Recently, the Central Government put out an FAQ list, on the Press Information Bureau website on December 20, addressing questions pertaining to how the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is different from the CAA. It explained in great detail how the CAA is a separate law and NRC a separate process. It also spoke about how the CAA is in force nationwide after its passage in the Parliament while the NRC rules and procedures for the country are yet to be decided. They also spoke about how NRC is not about any religion at all. 

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