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22 out of 43 crossing points along the Myanmar border under the revised Free Movement Regime (FMR) agreement have started operating, including 10 gates in Manipur, 5 each in Mizoram and Nagaland, and 2 in Arunachal Pradesh.
Free Movement Regime (FMR)
The FMR allows people living within 10 km of the India-Myanmar border to cross between the two countries without a visa or passport.
It was introduced due to strong ethnic and familial ties across the border.
New guidelines by the Union Home Ministry require border residents to use QR code-enabled passes to regulate movement.
The FMR was initially implemented in 1968, with territorial limits reduced over time from 40 km to 10 km now.
It allows people to visit relatives on either side of the border without formal documentation.
Since Myanmar's military coup in 2021, over 40,000 refugees, mainly from the Chin ethnic group, have entered India, particularly in Mizoram and Manipur.
Current status : While Home Minister Amit Shah announced that FMR is being scrapped, no official orders have been issued yet.
The Assam Rifles is monitoring the movement of people across the border.
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