Religion Of Father And Mother To Be Separately Recorded In Birth Register: New Act
According to Model Rules drafted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the parents will now be required to separately mention the religion of both the child’s father and mother when registering the birth of a child. Earlier, the requirement was the record of only the family’s religion in the birth register.
The proposed “Form No.1-Birth Report” will expand the column requiring a tick mark selection for the child”s religion to now include stating the “religion of father” and “religion of mother”, The Hindu reported. The changes in the rules will apply to the parents of an adopted child too.
Now, the state government will have to adopt and notify the rules ahead of its implementation. The move is part of the establishment of a national-level database of both birth and deaths. Reportedly, this data will be used to refresh other documents including Aadhaar numbers, property registrations, ration cards, electoral rolls, passports, driving licenses, and the National Population Register (NPR).
The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was approved by both Houses of Parliament in the Monsoon season of the parliament. Beginning from October 2023, the Birth Certificate was recognised as the sole document needed for availing various government services including access to educational institutions, obtaining driving license, preparing voter lists, securing an Aadhaar, registering marriage, obtaining government jobs etc.
Announcing the act, the government notification said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023 (20 of 2023), the Central Government hereby appoints the 1st day of October 2023, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
The Home Ministry also added that the act would help create a database of registered births and deaths which eventually would ensure efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits and digital registration.
