Centre reaches out to states over NPR

The Union home ministry is reaching out to states who have expressed reservations in updating the National Population Register – a biometric register of residents

The Union home ministry is reaching out to states who have expressed reservations in updating the National Population Register – a biometric register of residents in India, said people familiar with the development. The Union home minister is also expected to address Parliament on Tuesday on the same issue.

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The Register General of India (RGI) is writing to states like Kerala, West Bengal and Rajasthan – states who have expressed their unwillingness to update the register – among others, senior officials who did not want to be named said. Other states like Odisha and Tamil Naidu too have expressed their discomfort in updating the NPR database in the current form.

The letter addressed to the Chief Secretaries of the states also solicits the cooperation of states to update the database.

Assuring states, the MHA has reiterated the National Population Register (NPR) was created in 2010 and it was subsequently updated in 2015. Similarly, the register is being updated for 2021.

States among other things are objecting to the inclusion of three questions; when and where your parents born, what is your mother tongue and finally previous addresses?

Importantly for states, the RGI is also underlining that the government has taken no decision to create a National Register of Citizens (NRC) – a database of Indian citizens. The NPR database will be used to prepare the database of Indian citizens. And, to qualify to be included as Indian, individuals depending on when they were born will have to give proof. For instance, those born after 1987 will have to prove that at least one of the parents were an Indian citizen and the other was not an illegal migrant.

In addition, the MHA has also told states that no documents will be asked for when updating the register. And, providing details is to update the NPR is voluntary and depends on the individual.