Birth Certificate

Context

The Registrar General of India (RGI) has directed all States to ensure that birth certificates are issued before the discharge of newborns from hospitals, particularly government hospitals, where over 50% of institutional births take place.
This comes in the context of the amended Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, which came into effect from October 1, 2023.

What is the Birth Registration Law About?

The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 makes it mandatory to register all births and deaths in India.
A 2023 amendment to this Act introduced significant changes:
- All registrations must now happen through a centralised digital portal maintained by the Centre.
- The digital birth certificate issued under this system is now the single official document for proving date of birth for:
  - Admission in schools
  - Government jobs
  - Passport issuance
  - Marriage registration
  - Electoral rolls
  - NPR and ration cards

What Has the RGI Directed Now?

The birth certificate should be issued immediately after registration is completed, but not later than 7 days after the birth.
The certificate can be issued in electronic or physical format.
The RGI wants the certificate to be handed over to the mother before she is discharged from the hospital — especially in government-run hospitals, community health centres, and PHCs.

Why This Push Now?

The utility of birth certificates has increased immensely since the October 2023 amendment.
Birth certificates now integrate directly with national databases — NPR, voter list, property registration, and more.
The idea is to make the process efficient, accessible, and people-friendly.
There have been compliance gaps:
- In March 2025, the RGI warned medical institutions about delays in registering births and deaths.
- A worrying 10% of births were still not being registered.