A Bill that proposes to allow the Registrar General of India to maintain a database on births and deaths and use that to update the National Population Register (NPR) to be tabled in the winter session of parliament that commences on December 7, report various media outlets.
“The draft Bill was placed in the public domain for suggestions last year. We have received comments from State governments and incorporated the required changes. The legislative department is examining the Bill, and it will then be presented for the Union Cabinet’s approval. We will try to introduce the Bill in the winter session of parliament,” The Hindu quotes a source as saying.
The Hindu report states: “If the amendments are implemented, the Centre could use the data to update the National Population Register (NPR) that was first prepared in 2010 and revised through door-to-door enumeration in 2015. The NPR already has a database of 119 crore residents and under the Citizenship Rules, 2003, it is the first step towards the creation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC).”
According to the proposed Bill, the data will also be used for updating electoral rolls, the Aadhar database, ration cards, passports and driving licenses.
The registration of birth and death is already compulsory under the RBD Act, 1969 and violating it is a punishable offence. However, the government intends to improve compliance by making the registration mandatory to avail basic services such as admission in schools and registration of marriages.
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