Civil Registration System

Why in news?

• The Central government is planning to revamp the Civil Registration System (CRS) to enable the registration of birth and death in real-time with minimum human interface that will be independent of location, according to the 2020-21 annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

What is the Civil Registration System (CRS)?

• CRS is the process of continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of births and deaths in the country.
• CRS is linked to the National Population Register(NPR) which already has a database of 119 crore residents.

Background:

• The history of the Civil Registration System(CRS) in India dates back to the middle of the 19th century.
• In 1886 a Central Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act was promulgated to provide for voluntary registration throughout British India.
• Post-independence, the Registration of Births and Death Act (RBD Act) was enacted in 1969. With the enactment of the Act, registration of births and deaths became mandatory in India.
• The Registrar General, India (RGI) under the Home Ministry at the Central Government level coordinates and unifies the activities of registration throughout the country. 
• However, implementation of the statute is vested with the State Governments. The registration of births and deaths in the country is done by the functionaries appointed by the State Governments.

What are the Proposed Amendments?

• Updation of NPR:
  • There is a need to update the NPR (National Population Register) again, first collated in 2010 and updated in 2015 with Aadhaar, mobile and ration card numbers to incorporate the changes due to birth, death and migration.
• IT enabled real-time registration:
  • The CRS system is facing challenges in terms of timelines, efficiency and uniformity, leading to delayed and under-coverage of birth and death.
  • To address the challenges faced by the system, Government of India has decided to introduce transformational changes in the Civil Registration System of the country through an IT [information technology] enabled backbone leading to registration of birth and death on a real-time basis with minimum human interface.
• Automation and Time Bound System:
  • The changes would be in terms of automating the process delivery points so that the service delivery was time-bound, uniform and free from discretion.
• Maintain database at National Level:
  • Amendments to the RBD Act,1969 is proposed to enable it to maintain the database of registered birth and deaths at the national level.
  • The database may be used to update the Population Register, Electoral Register, Aadhaar, Ration Card, Passport, and Driving License databases.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements:

1. Under Registration of Births and Death Act (RBD Act), 1969, registration of births and deaths is mandatory.

2. Implementation of the Registration of Births and Death Act (RBD Act), 1969 is vested with the State Governments.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer