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New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Hyderabad to adopt new birth, death registration system
HYDERABAD: As part of efforts to implement a uniform system for birth and death registration across the country, Hyderabad is set to adopt the new Civil Registration System (CRS), also known as the Registration of Birth and Death Rules 2022. The CRS is managed by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Currently, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) uses its own software for online registration of births and deaths. However, several instances of fake birth and death certificates being issued have come to light, prompting the termination of health assistants and computer operators and the suspension of some Assistant Medical Officers of Health (AMOHs). Once Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy clears the file, GHMC will switch to the ORGI's CRS platform to curb such malpractices and ensure uniformity. GHMC officials told TNIE that the move aligns with ORGI's push to standardise registration processes, certificate issuance and statistical data generation. The CRS software developed by ORGI is already being adopted in various states, Union Territories and cities across India. Officials said the software allows real-time monitoring of data, tracks registration activity, preserves records digitally and ensures issuance of uniform certificates with a unique registration number for every event.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Govt issues notification for Census; pre-test done, apps developed
New Delhi: The Centre on Monday issued a notification for conducting 16th Census, thereby formally initiating the preparatory work for the largest population counting exercise after a gap of 16 years. '....the Central government hereby declares that a census of the population of India shall be taken during the year 2027. The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand', said the notification issued by the Office of Registrar General of India or ORGI. 'In respect of the UT of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date shall be 00:00 hours of the 1st day of October, 2026,' it added. Customarily, once a gazette notification for intent of conducting Census is issued, there are various preparatory areas on which detailed discussions take place, including with data users, training of enumerators, etc but officials familiar with upcoming Census said 'most of these activities have already been completed since between 2021 and now'. The government had, last week, announced that the much-delayed Census exercise, which will include caste enumeration, will be completed by March 1, 2027. Officials have said that while the data collection would be over by March 1, 2027, the entire exercise to collate the data and publish it will take two to three more years. On preparatory activities already done, officials said that all the states have already constituted Census Coordination Committees (CCCs) under the respective chief secretaries. 'As the Census exercise was originally to take place in 2020, ORGI had already written to states/UTs for forming CCCs in April 2019,' said an officer, adding that the committees have various departments like revenue, local administration, municipal corporations, rural development and panchayats, planning education, etc for conducting and monitoring different phases of Census. Also, the pre-test for Census - which is conducted prior to each Census encompassing all facets to check feasibility of all questions, methodologies, logistics arrangements, processing of data, etc - was also done in 2019. 'The pre-test for Census 2021, which will now be called Census-2027, was conducted in 2019 in all 36 states/UTs across 76 districts in 90 areas (54 rural and 36 urban) covering a population of 26 lakh, in which around 6,000 enumerators and 1,100 supervisors from respective states/UTs were involved in data collection and supervision,' said a second officer cited above. The ministry of home affairs said on Sunday that the 16th Census will see involvement of about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors. Besides, it said, around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed for the exercise. It also said that the upcoming census 'will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications' and 'provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people'. Like all previous Censuses, the latest Census also has a technical advisory committee (TAC) to advise on all technical issues related to the decadal exercise. The members of TAC are mainly former Census commissioners, former deputy registrar generals of ORGI, former director of Census Operations, representatives of state governments and from ministries concerned, eminent demographers, and experts from selected institutions. The second officer cited above said the TAC held its first meeting on January 30, 2019 itself to discuss preparedness, suggestions to stakeholders, pilot test and data collection method. Its second and third meetings took place in September 2019 and December 2021, respectively. The 16th Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. house-listing operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. population enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. A third officer said that for the upcoming Census exercise, two separate mobile applications and a web portal have been developed for data collection along with its monitoring on real or near-real time basis. 'The mobile apps have been developed in English and 15 regional languages as per requirement of different states,' he said. The Census portal developed by ORGI is named as Census Management and Monitoring System (CMMS) and is for Census functionaries to monitor and manage every activity such as training, work allocation, logistics, real-time progress of work, online data entry etc. Earlier, on Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah had reviewed the preparations for the Census. The ministry of home affairs said after the meeting that the Census will have the option of self-enumeration by residents. The ORGI has already developed a web-based portal called Self Enumeration (SE) Portal, which allows the respondents to view and update the information of their households members. The SE portal, according to officials, will be closed for changes, a few days prior to the census exercise start date. The objective of the portal is to digitize the process of capturing the census data, as the respondents can update the details of their family members online without the help of an enumerator. The SE portal will be accessible with authentication based on pre-filled information available with the ORGI and a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered mobile number(s). The respondent will be allowed to change the family details, and add new family members and those family members who are not part of the household shall be marked as moved-out or died, said an officer explaining the process. The MHA also said on Sunday that 'very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage (for Census)'. On data security, the first officer cited above said 'for data capture and processing, three main data-centres have been set-up and existing 18 data capture centres (DCCs) have been upgraded'. 'These data centres are properly secured using the state-of-the-art technology including next generation firewall, DDoS protection, patch management, end point protection, web application firewall, etc. There are dedicated security analysts and engineers to monitor potential security threats,' he said. The Census forms an important node of policy making in India as it is the principal source of official socioeconomic and demographic data that forms the basis for government schemes, policies, and planning. But the 2027 census has assumed more importance because it is being held after a decade-and-a-half and will also officially confirm India's status as the world's most-populous nation. It will enumerate caste for the first time since the 1931 census, a politically explosive exercise that will have sweeping socioeconomic ramifications and lead to an expansion of caste-based quotas in jobs and education, likely breaching the 50% mark mandated in a landmark 1992 Supreme Court judgment. The census will also be the basis for conducting the delimitation exercise for Lok Sabha seats, another controversial process that threatens to drive a wedge between northern and southern India, as well as usher in the reservation of a third of all seats in national and state legislatures for women.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Centre issues notification for caste census, says 2-phase exercise to begin in 2027
The Central government on Monday issued a gazette notification for the caste census, which will begin in 2027. It will be India's 16th census. The notification said that the census proceedings will begin on October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh. For the rest of the country, the mega exercise will begin on March 1, 2027. "The reference date for the said census shall be 00.00 hours of the 1st day of March, 2027, except for the Union territory of Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand," the notification read, adding for snow-bound states and union territories, the exercise will begin at 00:00 hours of the 1st day of October, 2026. The latest census will be carried out after a gap of 16 years. The last census was conducted in 2011. The government statement said that the census, which is conducted to collect population-related data, will be carried out by 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors and around 1.3 lakh census functionaries armed with digital devices. The exercise will be conducted in two phases -- Houselisting Operation (HLO) and Population Enumeration (PE). Under HLO, data on the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Under PE, data about the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. The Central government has said that the exercise will have the option of self-enumeration. The exercise will be conducted digitally, and very stringent data security measures will be put in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage. The office of the registrar general of India (ORGI) has already developed a web-based portal called Self Self-Enumeration (SE) Portal, which allows respondents to view and update the information of their household members. The SE portal, according to officials, will be closed for changes a few days before the census exercise start date. The objective of the portal is to digitise the process of capturing the census data, as the respondents can update the details of their family members online without the help of an enumerator. Also read: Census 2027 to include self-enumeration option says Union home ministry The SE portal will be accessible with authentication based on pre-filled information available with the ORGI and a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered mobile number(s). The respondent will be allowed to change the family details, and add new family members, and those family members who are not part of the household shall be marked as moved out or died, said an officer explaining the process. The BJP, which ruled the Centre, had earlier accused the Congress-led Opposition of attempting to divide the nation on caste lines with its demand for the caste census. However, earlier this year, in a surprise move, the government announced the caste-based census.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Census 2027 to include self-enumeration option says Union home ministry
Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed preparations for the Census, for which a formal notification will be issued on Monday, the Union home ministry said on Sunday while reiterating that the upcoming exercise will have the option of self-enumeration. The ministry further said that Census 2027 will be conducted through digital means and that very stringent data security measures would be put in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage. Also Read: Census 2027 to include self-enumeration option says Union home ministry As reported by HT at that time, the government had issued Census (Amendment) Rules, 2022 on March 11, 2022 to allow self-enumeration online. Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai had also informed the Rajya Sabha in July 2022, as reported by HT then, that it will be the first digital Census with a provision for self-enumeration. Also Read: Centre eyes quota for women ahead of 2029 elections The office of the registrar general of India (ORGI) has already developed a web-based portal called Self Enumeration (SE) Portal, which allows the respondents to view and update the information of their households members. The SE portal, according to officials, will be closed for changes, a few days prior to the census exercise start date. The objective of the portal is to digitize the process of capturing the census data, as the respondents can update the details of their family members online without the help of an enumerator Also Read: India's first caste-based digital census to begin on March 1, 2027 The SE portal will be accessible with authentication based on pre-filled information available with the ORGI and a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered mobile number(s). The respondent will be allowed to change the family details, and add new family members and those family members who are not part of the household shall be marked as moved-out or died, said an officer explaining the process. A second officer said that initially, it was decided that during the first phase of the census i.e. house-listing operations (HLO), the mobile number from the willing household would be collected, which may be used for giving them access for self-enumeration during the second phase of self-enumeration i.e. population enumeration (PE). Later, this officer said, when the Census and National Population Register (NPR) updation exercise was postponed due to Covid-19, it was decided to extend the self-enumeration facility for house-listing also. SE option for PE will be given to all those households who will provide mobile numbers during HLO phase whether SE is done or not during the first phase, he added. The MHA said on Sunday, 'Shah reviewed the preparation for the forthcoming Census with the Union home secretary (Govind Mohan), Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan) and other senior officials in New Delhi today. The notification to conduct the Census will be published in the official gazette on June 16'. The government had, last week, announced that the much-delayed Census exercise, which will include caste enumeration, will be completed by March 1, 2027. Officials have said that while the data collection would be over by March 1, 2027, the entire exercise to collate the data and publish it will take two to three more years. The 16th Census will be conducted in two phases. In phase one i.e. house-listing operation (HLO), the housing conditions, assets and amenities of each household will be collected. Subsequently, in the second phase i.e. population enumeration (PE), the demographic, socio-economic, cultural and other details of every person in each household will be collected. The MHA said on Sunday that about 34 lakh enumerators and supervisors as well as and around 1.3 lakh Census functionaries would be deployed for the exercise. It added that the upcoming census 'will be conducted through digital means using mobile applications'. 'Provision of self-enumeration would also be made available to the people,' it said. On data security, the MHA said 'very stringent data security measures would be kept in place to ensure data security at the time of collection, transmission and storage'. The government has defended the delay by saying that countries which conducted Census immediately after Covid-19 faced issues on 'quality and coverage' of census data.
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
12 states, UTs undercounted Covid deaths in 2022: Report
New Delhi: India registered 8.6 million deaths in 2022, the least deadly year of the Covid-19 pandemic. This represents a 15% decline from 2021, the deadliest pandemic year, with the death rate likely returning to pre-pandemic levels. This suggests mortality was normalising as Covid-19 infections became less severe and vaccines were deployed. However, signs of health system stress persisted due to the virus. Excess deaths, or the surplus over the number of deaths that would have happened at the death rate seen in 2019, were higher than the Covid-19 tally issued by states in 2022. This suggests that states undercounted deaths related to Covid-19. Data suggests at least 12 states and union territories evidently did so. Moreover, the proportion of deaths without medical attention remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. These findings come from two reports published on Thursday by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI), under the ministry of home affairs: Vital Statistics of India Based on the Civil Registration System (CRS) 2022, and the report on the Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD) 2022. CRS records all registered births and deaths in the country and is the most important source of statistics related to them. The MCCD captures a fraction of the CRS deaths where deaths are medically certified. The CRS report shows India registered 8.6 million deaths in 2022 compared to 10.2 million in 2021. The 2021 figure was a sharp increase from 7 million, 7.6 million, and 8.1 million deaths in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. To be sure, mortality rates are typically assessed after adjusting for population. For instance, the Sample Registration System (SRS) reports use sample surveys to estimate the crude death rate (CDR) per thousand population. CDR shot up to 7.5 in 2021 from 6.0 in 2020 and 6.2 in both 2018 and 2019. The lower CDR in 2020 was likely because accidental deaths decreased in the year, as HT explained on May 8. Since ORGI hasn't published the 2022 SRS report, no survey-based CDR estimate is available. However, using registered deaths and National Commission on Population projections, CDR in 2022 was 6.3—close to 2018-2019 levels. The SRS may arrive at a higher 2022 CDR estimate since not all deaths are registered in the CRS. Historically, SRS estimates exceeded CRS-based calculations by 1.0 and 0.5 per thousand population in 2018 and 2019, though this gap disappeared in 2020 and 2021. While the estimated death rate suggests the health system was normalising, other indicators show incomplete recovery. At the 2019 death rate of 6.2, deaths in 2022 would number 8,554,450. This is 95,480 deaths more than the 8,649,930 deaths registered in the 2022 CRS. Pandemic bulletins issued by states in the year only counted 50,435 deaths from Covid-19. At least 12 states and UTs undercounted Covid-19 deaths, according to the MCCD report. These jurisdictions reported 6,076 Covid-19 deaths in 2022, while the MCCD attributed 12,818 deaths directly to or related to Covid-19 in these jurisdictions. See Chart To be sure, the MCCD data doesn't show national-level undercounting for 2022. Nationally, only 25,393 deaths were attributed to Covid-19 in MCCD data, compared to 50,435 in pandemic bulletins. This likely reflects that MCCD captures just over 20% of registered deaths, with coverage varying by state. Despite this limitation, MCCD found 413,580 Covid-19 deaths nationally in 2021 compared to 332,510 in pandemic bulletins. The partial recovery in 2022 is also seen in another set of numbers from the CRS. Some 50.7% of registered deaths occurred without medical attention, compared to 47.3% in 2021, 45% in 2020, and 34.5% in 2019.
