No decision yet on updating National Population Register, says Centre
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs had said in 2022 that there was a need to update the register.
The Union government is yet to take a decision on updating the National Population Register, the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The National Population Register is a list of all the usual residents of India. It was first prepared in 2010. In 2015, information in some fields, such as name, gender and date and place of birth, was updated. Details on Aadhaar, mobile and ration numbers were also collected.
In 2022, the home affairs ministry stated that there was a need to update the National Population Register to incorporate changes due to birth, death and migration.
After the Union government announced in June that India would conduct its population census in 2027, reports stated that this would also pave the way for the National Population Register to be updated.
The National Population Register is the first step to creating an all-India National Register of Citizens, which will identify undocumented migrants residing in the country.
While the National Population Register itself does not determine citizenship or require residents to submit documents, its link with the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Rules has raised concerns. Indian Muslims fear that this could be used to harass and disenfranchise them.
The Citizenship Amendment Act aimed to provide a fast track to citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities, except Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years and have entered the country by December 31, 2014.
On March 11, 2024, the Centre notified the Citizenship Amendment Rules, enabling the implementation of the Act.
The Centre has claimed that it has no plans to conduct the National Register of Citizens exercise across the country.
In August 2019, Assam published an updated National Register of Citizens to distinguish Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state.
More than 19 lakh persons in Assam were left out of the final list of the National Register of Citizens – around 6% of Assam’s entire population.
