India
India
The Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner is responsible for civil registration as well as the production of vital statistics. The Ministry of Health supports the civil registration system providing incentives for registration, manpower and logistics support under the National Health Mission.
There is no birth registration fee within the prescribed period of 21 days, although fees are prescribed for birth certificates and they vary according to state/local body.
The Indian national CRVS coordination mechanism was established in August 2015, while a national CRVS strategy and a comprehensive assessment are still in progress. In 2011, the Office of the Registrar General identified several challenges such as, lack of awareness regarding the need and importance of registration, low priority accorded to the system of civil registration by the states, lack of coordination among the concerned departments and low level of reporting by registration units.
To tackle these issues, several initiatives have been taken. For example, legal items are now separated from statistical ones reducing the number of forms from 21 to 13, a more efficient coordination mechanism has been established and a nationwide database of medical institutions has been prepared. Also, a software application for online and offline registration of birth and death has been developed, this application covers the entire gamut of the civil registration system: registration of events, generation of certificates, and generation of statistical tables and reports. The application, available in English, has been translated into 13 Indian languages and it is being implemented across all states.
In addition, a new project on data digitization is being implemented, with the support of UNICEF, to keep old records in easy to retrieve digital form has started. This will help in storage of registers in electronic format and allow easy access to the records.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Additional Registrar General, Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs
RSG Member:
Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Additional Registrar General, Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs
India
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.C
By 2020, at least 75 per cent individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.D
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.E
By 2024, at least 60 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 Targets:
3.A
By 2024, annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources
3.B
By 2024, annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least 60 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 7 per cent.
3.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
3.F
By 2024, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year. [RAF Annex G]
3.G
By 2018, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
3.H
By 2024, an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.
National Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
Note: These figures do not represent the national level of completeness: they refer to the annual average completeness rate of States providing disaggregation of registration data by the duration between occurrence and registration. The number of States providing this data changes each year, completeness rates are thus not comparable across the years.
BASELINE
201492%
MIDTERM
201785%
TARGET
2024100%
1.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
MIDTERM
201679.7%
TARGET
2024100%
1.C
By 2020, at least 75 per cent individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
TARGET
202475%
1.D
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
Note: These figures do not represent the national level of completeness: they refer to the annual average completeness rate of States providing disaggregation of registration data by the duration between occurrence and registration. The number of States providing this data changes each year, completeness rates are thus not comparable across the years.
baseline
201482%
MIDTERM
201785%
TARGET
2024100%
1.E
By 2024, at least 60 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
baseline
201432.3%
MIDTERM
201748.7%
TARGET
202460%
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.
National Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
TARGET
2024100%
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
TARGET
2024100%
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.
National Targets:
3.A
By 2024, annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources
TARGET
2024
3.B
By 2024, annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
2024
3.C
By 2024, at least 60 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
baseline
201311.6%
TARGET
202460%
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to 7 per cent.
baseline
20133.3%
MIDTERM
20174.9%
TARGET
20247%
3.E
By 2024, at least … per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.
MIDTERM
Yes
3.F
By 2024, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year. [RAF Annex G]
TARGET
2024
3.G
By 2018, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
TARGET
Target achieved
3.H
By 2024, an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
TARGET
2024
India
National Coordination Mechanism
Status in India: Complete
Comprehensive Assessment
Status in India: Complete
National Targets for 2024
Status in India: Complete
Monitoring & Reporting Plan
Status in India: Plans
Inequality Assessment
Status in India: Not started
National Strategy
Status in India: Plans
National Focal Point
Status in India: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Baseline
Status in India: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Midterm
Status in India: Complete
India Events
09 December 2015 - 10 December 2015
The workshop for National CRVS Focal Points is aimed at strengthening capacities for setting national targets and collecting, compiling and…
18 October 2017 - 20 October 2017
The Regional Steering Group provides guidance for the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in…
17 September 2019 - 19 September 2019
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2019)
The Regional Steering Group is responsible for providing regional oversight and guidance for the…
13 November 2018 - 15 November 2018
The Regional Steering Group is responsible for providing regional oversight and guidance for the implementation of the Regional Action…
26 November 2019 - 28 November 2019
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight November 2019)
The second CR8 meeting was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for…
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight June 2021)
The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion will launch their COVID-19 impact report on 17 June 2021. The new…
India News
29 October 2024
Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative and Vital Strategies recently hosted a five-day workshop in New Delhi, India aimed at…
30 August 2024
Our community newsletter puts a spotlight on people who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to support CRVS programmes in Asia and the…
17 April 2024
The Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) in the Directorate Health of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Government of…
19 April 2024
Newsletter April 2024
The Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) in the Directorate Health of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family…
20 October 2023
(Newsletter October 2023)
Join the discussion on Advancing Equity: Improving Population Health Through Gender Mainstreaming in Policy led by Vital…
02 August 2023
(Newsletter July 2023)
The Indian Parliament is set to introduce a Bill to amend the Registration of Birth and Death Act, which would aim to make…
17 May 2023
(Newsletter May 2023)
The ninth meeting of the Regional Steering Group (RSG) for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Asia and the…
20 October 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2022)
The preparations for the Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific are nearly complete…
20 August 2020
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight August 2020)
As part of its ongoing support for countries improving the performance of their CRVS systems, particularly…
20 July 2020
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight July 2020)
The Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia (CR8) is a network dedicated to improving the national CRVS…
30 August 2018
The first meeting of the Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia (CR8) took place between 24 - 25 July in Kathmandu, Nepal. Co-organized by…
29 January 2018
The CRVS Secretariat of the Cabinet Division, Government of Bangladesh organized the "International Conference on CRVS, 2018" on 23-25 January 2018…
11 October 2017
Expert Talks: Understanding civil registration and vital statistics systems is a series of 22 short interviews with CRVS experts from around the…
03 April 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
29 April 2016
Here you can find recent news, events and blogs relevant for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
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India Resources
Journals, Articles and Working Papers, 2023
This paper will be presented at the Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum, held online on 3–4 April 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. This paper is listed…
Journals, Articles and Working Papers, 2023
This paper will be presented at the Asia-Pacific CRVS Research Forum, held online on 3–4 April 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. This paper is listed…
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, Report, 2020
This publication builds on the success of the first meeting of the Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia in July 2018 and expands on the…
Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2020
Meeting Documents, 2024
This resource provides a full list of members for the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. The list includes members for the…
Newsletters, 2019
Articles
23 Member Countries have already reported on their CRVS progress since 2015
South Asia makes huge progress in birth registration, shows…
Report, 2018
Civil registration is a priority on the policy agenda of countries across South Asia. The governments in the region are committed to achieving the…
Meeting Documents, Presentations, 2019
Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019
The "Status of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in South Asia" report documents the policies, systems and procedures in place for the…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Third meeting of the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific
New video series on CRVS systems
High-level panelists…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics play a key role in facilitating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A well-functioning CRVS…
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
Country Assessments and Strategies, Presentations, 2015
India's country presentation made at the 1st Regional Steering Group for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Meeting, Bangkok, 28-30 July…
Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2015
The purpose of this report is to compare the legal frameworks governing birth registration in eleven jurisdictions. Birth registration is the process…
Report, 2010
The Sample Registration System (SRS) in India is the largest demographic survey in the world covering about 1.5 million households and 7.3 million…
Meeting Documents, UN Official Documents, 2016
The seventy-first session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific adopted resolution 71/14 on the Asian and Pacific Civil…
Presentations, 2014
This material was presented at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics 24 – 28 November 2014
International Standards and Recommendations, UN Official Documents, 2014
Through Commission resolution 69/15, countries in Asia and the Pacific requested that further regional action be taken to support the improvement of…
Journals, Articles and Working Papers, 2016
Objective To analyse the design and operational status of India’s civil registration and vital statistics system and facilitate the system’s…
Report, 2015
This issue of the Report on ‘Vital Statistics of India based on the Civil Registration System’ for the year 2013 provides an overview of the working…
Country Statements, 2014
India issued this statement in the Ministerial Conference agenda item 6 regarding the State of civil registration and vital statistics in Asia and…
Country Statements, 2014
Country statement delivered during the Ministerial Conference under agenda item 4 - Implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, 2014
The Ministerial Declaration to "Get every one in the picture' in Asia and the Pacific was made at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration…
Meeting Documents, Report, UN Official Documents, 2014
The Report of the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific gives an overview of the main outcomes of…
Events
News
Resources
Journals, Articles and Working Papers, 2023
Journals, Articles and Working Papers, 2023
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, Report, 2020