More births, deaths being recorded: Benefits, gaps, Pg16

Key Highlights:

• India officially recorded over 99% of its estimated births and deaths in 2024, marking a significant increase in coverage.
• Birth registration reached 99.1% and death registration reached 99.4% in 2024, as per the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
• The Civil Registration System (CRS) operates under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, which was amended in 2023.
• This improvement signifies a major shift from India's historical reliance on surveys due to incomplete civil registration.
• In 2024, 18 states and Union Territories achieved 100% birth registration, while 21 states and UTs achieved 100% death registration.

Detailed Insights:

• The CRS serves as a foundational source of India’s population data, crucial for estimating mortality, fertility, and sex ratio at birth.
• Historically, India registered only 56% of births and 48% of deaths by 2000, highlighting the scale of the recent improvement.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023, aims to enhance the completeness, timeliness, and accessibility of civil registration.
• Increased institutional deliveries and the mandatory requirement of birth certificates for school admission and welfare benefits are key drivers for higher birth registration.
• Expanded access to formal healthcare, including schemes like PM-JAY, and the need for death certificates for pensions and inheritance, have boosted death registration.
• A complete CRS provides real-time demographic information, supports local planning under decentralised governance, and aids in assessing health and social policies.
• Significant gaps persist, including regional disparities, challenges in timely registration within 21 days, and under-registration of infant deaths, particularly in rural areas.
• The quality of information, specifically the medical certification of the cause of death, remains an area needing improvement for better disease and mortality analysis.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Civil Registration System (CRS): A continuous and compulsory mechanism for recording vital events like births, deaths, and stillbirths, providing essential demographic data.
• Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969: The primary legislation in India that mandates and governs the registration of births and deaths, recently updated in 2023.
• Sample Registration System (SRS): A large-scale demographic survey used to provide estimates of fertility and mortality indicators, especially when CRS coverage was historically low.
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY): A government-sponsored health insurance scheme providing financial protection for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to vulnerable families.