Civil Registration System (CRS) Portal Faces Technical Glitches, Delaying Birth and Death Certificates in India

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Civil Registration System (CRS) in India
• Recent initiatives to strengthen CRS

Why in News?

The Union government's centralised Civil Registration System (CRS) portal, used for registering births and deaths, has been facing technical issues for the past four months, causing delays in the issuance of certificates.

Under the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act of 2023, all births and deaths in India from October 1, 2023, must be digitally registered through this portal.

The digital birth certificates will serve as a single document for various services, including education, government jobs, and marriage registration.

Additionally, the centralised database will update the National Population Register (NPR), which has 119 crore residents and serves as a precursor to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) under the Citizenship Act.

Civil Registration System (CRS) in India

• With the enactment of the Registration of Births and Death Act (RBD Act) in 1969, the registration of births, deaths and still births have become mandatory in India.
• The Registrar General, India (RGI) at the Central Government level coordinates and unifies the activities of registration throughout the country.
  • The Chief Registrar is mandated to publish a statistical report on the registered births and deaths during the year.
• 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.

Recent initiatives to strengthen CRS

• Uniform Software Application for Registration of Births and Deaths
  • A software application for online and offline registration of birth and death has been developed.
  • The application that is presently available in English is being customized in 13 Indian languages.
• Database of Institutions
  • A nationwide database of medical Institutions has been prepared.
  • The plan is to electronically monitor the registration of events occurring in these institutions through an ICT enabled platform.
• Application to Monitor Institutional Events
  • An SMS based application called "Event Monitoring System for Registration" has been developed and is currently under pilot testing.
• Data digitization
  • Project to keep old records in easy to retrieve digital form has been started.
  • This will help in storage of registers in electronic format and allow easy access to the records.
• National Population Register
  • The Civil Registration System has been linked to the NPR.

Q.1. What is Registrar General, India (RGI)?

The Registrar General, India (RGI) is an official government authority responsible for conducting the Census of India and overseeing the registration of births, deaths, and marriages. Established in 1961, the RGI operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and manages vital statistics and demographic data across the country.

Q.2. What is a National Population Register (NPR)?

The National Population Register (NPR) is a database of all usual residents of India, established under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It includes demographic and biometric details of residents and serves as a precursor to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The NPR aims to enhance national security and streamline service delivery.

Source: Issuance of birth and death certificates hit as Centre’s portal faces snag | CRS | The Hindu