Rapid Fire
RGI Directives on Birth Certificates
- 28 Jun 2025
- 2 min read
The Registrar General of India (under the Ministry of Home Affairs) has directed all States to ensure birth certificates are issued within 7 days of registration, preferably before discharging newborns from hospitals, especially in government facilities, which account for over 50% of institutional births in India.
- Birth registration: Birth registration in India has increased from 86% (2014) to over 96% (2024).
- Legal Framework for Birth Registration: It is governed by the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, with no fee if done within 21 days.
- Legal provisions now ensure registration of adopted, orphaned, abandoned, surrendered, and surrogate children, as well as those of single parents or unmarried mothers.
- The 2023 amendment made digital registration mandatory and recognized electronic documents as official.
- Governance Implications: From 1st October 2023, digital birth certificates became the sole proof of date of birth for school admissions, government jobs, marriage registrations, and issuance of driving licenses and passports.
- The Central Civil Registration System (CRS) portal was developed to centralize registration data that will feed into the National Population Register (NPR), ration cards, property registrations, and electoral rolls, aiming to strengthen governance.
- Global Commitments: It aligns with United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade (2014–2024) goal to “Get everyone in the picture” and supports SDG Target 16.9: “By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration.”
| Read More: Registration of Births and Deaths in India |
