Panaji | Karachi-born Shane Sabastian Pereira entered India to live in his ancestral village in Goa just four months after his birth, but it has taken him 43 years to obtain Indian citizenship.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday handed over the Indian citizenship certificate to the Pakistan-born Christian man under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Shane is the second person from the coastal state to receive the certificate, after Joseph Francis Pereira, another Pakistani citizen who was granted Indian citizenship in August this year.

Shane, originally from Demello Wado in Anjuna, North Goa, said his parents had migrated to Karachi, where he was born in August 1981. Four months after his birth, the family moved back to Goa, where he completed his schooling. He married Maria Gloria Fernandes, an Indian citizen, in 2012.

He said his attempts to obtain Indian citizenship over the years had been unsuccessful.

"Finally, inspired by Mr Joseph (Pereira), I applied again for citizenship," he said.

The certificate mentions that Shane is registered as a citizen of India under the provisions of section 6B, fulfilling the conditions under section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, with effect from the date of his entry into India.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, the chief minister addressed concerns raised by some, including a section of the media, questioning how the CAA would benefit Goans.

"Shane is the second Goan to receive this certificate, and many others have applied, with their applications currently under process," he said, adding that the CAA will benefit many Goans.

Sawant pointed out that Shane's application for citizenship under the CAA was approved within three months.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's decision to implement the Act would help Hindus, Christians, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists, and Sikhs stranded in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.