Lok Sabha passes Bill on birth registration
Context
The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was approved by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. It paves the way for the creation of digital birth certificates, which will serve as a single document for many purposes, including voter registration, marriage registration, driving license applications, applications for government jobs, passports, and Aadhaar.
What is the historical background?
- The Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1969: To provide a system for the nationwide recording of births and deaths, India passed this law. To enable different social welfare programmes and governmental administration, this act’s major goal is to preserve accurate records of births and deaths.
- Right to Documentation: Every person is acknowledged to have the right to documentation, including a birth certificate or other kinds of identification. These records are necessary for people to have access to their rights and services and live respectably.
- Aadhaar: Aadhaar is a 12-digit exclusive identifying number given to Indian citizens by the Unique Identifying Authority of India (UIDAI). It is frequently used to access a variety of public and private services as confirmation of identification and residence.
- Aadhaar and Birth/Death Registration: Initially, the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 did not require Aadhaar for birth and death registration. It implies that individuals could record births and deaths without divulging their Aadhaar data.
- Registrar General Of India: The central organisation in charge of recording births and deaths in India is known as the Registrar General of India (RGI). The current ruling makes the registration procedure more simplified and effective by enabling the RGI to carry out Aadhaar authentication.
What are the provisions of the bill passed?
- Purpose of the bill: The bill’s goal is to change the rules dictating how births and deaths are registered in India.
- Introduction of Digital Birth Certificates: Digital birth certificates will be introduced, and they will be a single document that may be used for many different things, as the bill suggests.
- Use of Digital Birth Certificates: The purpose of digital birth certificates is to provide individuals with verification of their date and place of birth. They are designed to simplify the procedure and lessen the requirement for several documents for varied functions.
- Applications for Multiple Services: The digital birth certificate can be applied for a variety of services, including but not limited to:
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- admission to institutes of higher learning
- requesting driving licenses
- Applications for public employment
- Applications for passports or Aadhaar (a unique identity number)
- voter registration
- marriage registration among other things.
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- Eliminating the Need for Various Documents: The main objective of the bill is to do away with the need for various documents to demonstrate a person’s date and place of birth in India.
- State Consent and Public Consultation: According to the Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, the legislation’s provisions have received the approval of every state. The measure was additionally made available for public comment.
- National Population Register (NPR) update: The National Population Register (NPR) will be updated using the database provided by digital birth certificates.
- Integration with Other Documents: Other important databases and documents, such as those for ration cards and property registrations, will also be merged with the digital birth certificate database.
- Existing NPR Database: The NPR already has information on 119 crore (1.19 billion) residents. Data was first gathered in 2010 and updated in 2015.
