Census 2025 as a Comprehensive Citizen Registry

The 2025 Census in India will include an exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), which is the first step toward creating the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). This initiative aims to establish a verified citizen registry, differentiate citizens from non-citizens, and enhance national security. The process is being closely examined due to its potential implications on identity verification, welfare distribution, and data privacy.

NRIC and NPR Process

• Origins and Mandate: The NRIC derives its mandate from the Citizenship Act of 1955, with the goal of creating a verified citizen database. The exercise gained relevance following the Subrahmanyam Committee’s recommendations after the 1999 Kargil War.
• NPR’s Role: The NPR, as the first step in this process, aims to collect demographic and biometric data from all usual residents to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens, ensuring that only eligible individuals receive government benefits.
• Phases of Data Collection: The process includes multiple stages: demographic data collection, biometric data collection, inviting public claims and objections, followed by a verification process to finalize the NRIC.

NRIC vs. Aadhaar

• Distinct Purposes: While Aadhaar is a biometric identity tool for residents (citizens and non-citizens) to access services, the NRIC focuses specifically on verifying Indian citizenship, mandating proof of citizenship.
• Complementary Roles: Aadhaar is broadly inclusive for all residents and serves as an identity verification tool, whereas the NRIC serves as a definitive citizen registry, crucial for national security.
• Data Collection Difference: While Aadhaar’s biometric data is already stored, the NRIC will involve demographic and citizenship verification, which is distinct from the services Aadhaar facilitates.

Challenges and Concerns

• Assam’s NRC Experience: Assam’s NRC update in 2019, intended to identify illegal immigrants, highlighted issues like strict documentation requirements, accuracy concerns, and exclusion of many rural residents, offering a cautionary tale for the national NRIC process.
• Privacy and Data Protection: The collection of biometric and demographic data has raised concerns about data privacy, despite the Supreme Court’s Aadhaar verdict, making the need for robust data protection laws crucial.
• Exclusion Fears and Administrative Hurdles: The large-scale verification process could face challenges regarding exclusion of communities with limited documentation and the logistical difficulties of verifying millions of citizens, necessitating streamlined procedures and transparency.

Practice Question:

Q. Discuss the scope, objectives, and challenges of implementing the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) through the 2025 Census. How do the issues raised in Assam’s NRC update inform the potential nationwide implementation?