Panel set up to study ‘demographic change’, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• A high-level committee has been formed by the Centre to study demographic changes resulting from illegal immigration and other factors.
• The committee was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2025.
• Retired Supreme Court judge Prakash Prabhakar Navlekar, 83, will head the committee.
• The committee must submit its report within a year, with a possible extension of up to six months.
• The committee will recommend ways for the identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants.
• The next Census exercise is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Detailed Insights:

• The committee will assess demographic changes across India, analyzing population changes at the level of religious and social communities.
• Illegal immigration poses challenges to national security, law and order, social structure, and the protection of tribal societies.
• The committee includes the Census Commissioner, retired IAS officer Durga Shanker Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, and Dr. Shamika Ravi from the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
• The Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I) in the Ministry of Home Affairs will serve as the Member Secretary of the Committee.
• The committee will recommend an institutional mechanism for population stabilization.
• Justice Navlekar previously served as Lokayukta of Madhya Pradesh.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Demographic Change: Alterations in the structure of a population, including size, distribution, and composition.
• Illegal Immigration: The migration of people into a country in violation of the country's immigration laws.
• Population Stabilization: Efforts to manage population growth to achieve a sustainable level.
• Census: A complete enumeration of a population, collecting demographic, social, and economic data.