1,571 foreigners living in Auroville: Centre

The Centre informed the Lok Sabha Tuesday that 1,571 foreigners were living in Auroville as residents.

The information was supplied by Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar in response to a written question. The minister said foreigners visiting Auroville enter India on an X-2 Visa.

The X-2 Visa is granted to the spouse and children of an Indian citizen, a person of Indian Origin or an OCI cardholder, according to the MHA website.

Kumar said a total of 8 citizenship applications from Puducherry have been granted Indian citizenship, 15 citizenship applications are pending, and five citizenship applications from the Union Territory have been rejected.

Auroville is a universal township project on the borders of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which attracts lots of foreigners coming for meditation and spiritual awareness.

It is inspired by the vision of Sri Aurobindo and his ''spiritual collaborator,'' the Mother, according to the website of Auroville.