Why in News?  

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) portal.  

About the new OCI Portal  

• The new OCI portal offers improved features, better security, and an easy-to-use interface for more than 5 million existing OCI cardholders and new applicants.  
• The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme was introduced in 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955.  
• This scheme allows Persons of Indian Origin to register as Overseas Citizens of India if they were citizens of India on or after 26th January 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date.  
• People who are or were citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh, or whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were citizens of these countries, are not eligible for OCI.  
• The first OCI Services portal was launched in 2013 and operates in over 180 Indian missions worldwide and 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs).  
• Due to technological improvements and feedback from OCI cardholders, the portal has been redesigned to overcome previous issues and improve the user experience.