No decision yet on updating National Population Register, says Centre

The Union government is yet to take a decision on updating the National Population Register, the Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The National Population Register is a list of all the usual residents of India. It was first prepared in 2010. In 2015, information in some fields, such as name, gender and date and place of birth, was updated. Details on Aadhaar, mobile and ration numbers were also collected.

In 2022, the home affairs ministry stated that there was a need to update the National Population Register to incorporate changes due to birth, death and migration.

After the Union government announced in June that India would conduct its population census in 2027, reports stated that this would also pave the way for the National Population Register to be updated.

The National Population Register is the first step to creating an all-India National Register of Citizens, which will identify undocumented migrants residing in the country.

While the National Population Register itself does not determine citizenship or require residents to submit documents, its link with the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Rules has raised concerns. Indian Muslims fear that this could be used to harass and disenfranchise them.

The Citizenship Amendment Act aimed to provide a fast track to citizenship to refugees from six minority religious...

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