Amid NRC fears, Cabinet approves updation of National Population Register

mangaloretoday/ yahoo

New Delhi, Dec 24, 2019: The NPR updation exercise holds significance in the context of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens.

The Union Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a proposal to update the National Population Register (NPR), sources said. A budget of Rs 8500 crore has been allocated for the National Population Register updation exercise, PTI reported. The NPR exercise will require people to declare ‘date and place of birth of parents’ besides furnishing data on 21 points.

The NPR updation exercise holds significance in the context of the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens, which has led to violent protests across the nation in combination with the amended Citizenship law. The NPR exercise is to commence from April next year.

The data that will be collected for updating the NPR include date and place of birth of parents, last place of residence, Permanent Account Number, Aadhaar (on a voluntary basis), Voter ID card number, Driving License number and mobile number.

However, in the last NPR exercise in 2010, data was not collected on date and place of birth of parents, last place of residence, passport number, Aadhaar ID, PAN, Driving Licence number, Voter ID card and Mobile number. In 2015, this data was further updated by conducting a door-to-door survey.

“The data for NPR will be updated alongside the first phase of Census…No biometric data is being collected during the updation exercise,” a source told The Indian Express.

According to the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, notified on December 10, 2003, a Population Register is ‘the register containing details of persons usually residing in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated area (demarcated by the Registrar General of Citizen Registration) within a ward in a town or urban area.

Last week, the CPI(M)-led Kerala government and TMC government in West Bengal put on hold the NPR updation process amid fears that it was the “first step” towards the NRC.

The order in Kerala, issued by the General Administration Department, said the decision was taken "considering the apprehension among the general public about the conduct of National Population Register-related activities lead(ing) to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the wake of the Citizenship Amendment Act".