[3] The referendum was held by the French authorities on October 18, 1954; 170 out of 178 members of the Representative Council voted to join the Indian Union.
Finally, the Instruments of Ratification of Treaty of Cession between India and France in respect of the settlements were exchanged on August 16, 1962.
[3] The transitional period of eight years was used for “sorting out interests in the former colony” per a book called Pondicherry that was once French India written by historian Raphael Malangin.
French nationals were allowed to transfer their property to France free of charge for a period of 10 years after the signing.
[1] The treaty was ratified by France on August 16, 1962, and published in the Official Journal of the Republic on October 23, 1962 [5][6] De Jure Day, marking the "de jure" transfer, was celebrated for the first time by the government on August 16, 2016 (it was a public holiday before this date with no official celebrations taking place before 2016).