NEW DELHI: The Central Government proposes to make birth certificates a mandatory document for almost every sphere of life — admission in educational institutions, inclusion in the voter list, appointment in Central and state government jobs, issue of driving licence and passport.
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) will likely be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
The draft of the Bill — which will amend the Registration of Birth and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 — was shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in October last year for public comments and suggestions. 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 Government has also proposed amendments in Section 8 which deals with the requirement of citizens and house heads to give information on birth and death. Those responsible would be required to provide Aadhaar number, if available, of parents and the informant in case of birth, and of the deceased, parents, husband or wife and the informant in case of death.
The draft Bill has also made insertions to accommodate “non-institutional adoption”, “child born to a single parent / unwed mother from her womb” and “orphan, abandoned, or surrendered child in child care institution.
