MHA to introduce changes in Civil Registration System (CRS)

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to introduce changes in the Civil Registration System (CRS) in India.

Civil Registration System (CRS)

• History: The history of Civil Registration System (CRS) in India dates back to the middle of the 19th century.
• In 1886 a Central Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act was promulgated to provide for voluntary registration throughout British India.
• Post-independence, the Registration of Births and Death Act (RBD Act) was enacted in 1969 to promote uniformity and comparability in the registration of Births and Deaths across the country and compilation of vital statistics based thereon.
• With the enactment of the Act, registration of births, deaths and still births has become mandatory in India.
• The Registrar General, India (RGI) at the Central Government level coordinates and unifies the activities of registration throughout the country.
• However, implementation of the statute is vested with the State Governments. 
• Directorate of Census Operations are the sub-ordinate offices of Office of the Registrar General, India and these offices are responsible of monitoring of working of the Act in their concerned State/UT.

About MHA’s Plan:

• The Government of India has decided to introduce transformational changes in the Civil Registration System through an IT-enabled backbone leading to registration of birth and death in real-time basis with minimum human interface.
• The changes would be in terms of “automating the process delivery points so that the service delivery is time bound, uniform and free from discretion”.
• The project would be modular in nature consisting of
  • conceptualizing the transformation roadmap
  • Development of IT application along with its implementation
  • Capacity Building and Maintenance

What is the need?

• MHA decided to make changes in CRS, since the country has been facing challenges in terms of timelines, efficiency and uniformity.
• The above shortcomings lead to delay and under-coverage of births and deaths in the country.

Significance

• Addressing challenges: The changes address the challenges faced by the system in providing prompt service delivery to the public.
• Effective: The changes would be sustainable, scalable and independent of the location.