The Parliament has passed the *Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026*, with Rajya Sabha approving it today. Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill. Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai moved the bill, which aims to amend the *Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969*.
The new bill has been brought to _*make provisions for delayed registration more stringent and to encourage timely reporting of events of birth and death*_.
The Bill provides that if a birth or death is reported to the Registrar _more than one year but within two years after its occurrence,_ it may be registered only with the approval of the District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or an Executive Magistrate authorised by the District Magistrate, following verification of the authenticity of the birth or death.
Replying to debate over the Bill, Mr Rai said, the bill has been brought in view of the possible misuse of delayed registration. He said, _if a birth or death is reported to the Registrar more than two years_, it will be registered only on the order of a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
The Minister said, the system remains largely unchanged, except for the provision of delayed registration beyond two years.
Mr Rai said that the intent behind this amendment is clear as the government wants to ensure that every child born in the country is duly registered. The Minister added that it also aims to prevent discrepancies such as cases where births are registered improperly or manipulated for vested interests.
He said, similarly, every death must also be properly recorded in a timely manner, ensuring that there is no scope for misuse or irregularities in records.
The Minister noted that nearly 3.5 lakh registration units are functioning across the country. Mr Rai stated that birth registration in the country, which was around 86.6 % in 2014, has increased to over 99 % in 2024. Similarly, death registration, which was around 72.5 %, has now risen to 99.4 %. He said India is progressing with confidence towards achieving universal and accurate birth and death registration.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, BJP’s Darshana Singh said that the registration of births and deaths is not merely an administrative process but an important document of identity for every citizen. She stated that this Bill has been introduced to make the system simpler, transparent, and effective in line with the changing times. Ms Singh said that the birth and death registration system has been digitized, which will help make records secure and reliable. She added that India has made remarkable progress in the field of birth and death registration.
She emphasized that in recent years, significant progress has been made toward making citizen services more transparent and technology-driven.
BJD member Dr Santrupt Misra expressed concern over the provision in the Bill that requires such matters to be referred to a First Class Judicial Magistrate after a period of two years. He said that courts are already burdened with a large number of cases and there is no need to involve a First Class Judicial Magistrate.
Meda Raghunadha Reddy of YSRCP, said that his Party supports every effort to strengthen the integrity of India’s civil registration system and to prevent identity fraud.
He said, India’s civil registration system has made remarkable progress over the years. He said, before 2000, only about 56 % of births and 48 % of deaths were registered nationally.
Mr Reddy added that a reliable civil registration system is essential not only for legal identity but also for effective governance, policy planning, and the delivery of public services. Phulo Devi Netam of Congress, Mamata Thakur of TMC, Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju of BRS and M Dhanapal of AIADMK, among others, participated in the discussion.
