Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Government policies and interventions
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It was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
It amends the 1969 Registration of Births and Deaths Act (as amended in 2023) to establish stricter regulations and a tiered approval process for delayed registrations.
Under the Act, an order is required to register a birth or death for which information is given to the Registrar after one year of its occurrence.
Such an order may be issued by: (i) a district magistrate, (ii) a sub divisional magistrate, or (iii) an executive magistrate authorised by the district magistrate.
The order may be issued after verifying the correctness and on the payment of a prescribed fee.
The Bill instead provides that for a delay of more than two years, the order may be issued only by a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
The proposed legislation introduces a two-tier approval mechanism based on the duration of the delay.
As per the existing Act, registration of births and deaths is mandatory, and the certificate issued under the Act provides legal identity to an individual.
The new Bill has been brought to make provisions for delayed registration more stringent and to encourage timely reporting of births and deaths.
