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Govt. must register every citizen, issue IDs to them: Centre

06 Aug 2025 GS 2 Polity
Govt. must register every citizen, issue IDs to them: Centre Click to view full image
Context: The Lok Sabha was recently informed that the Citizenship Act, 1955, provides that the Union government should compulsorily register every citizen of India and issue national identity cards to them.

Legal Provisions and Government Stand

  • Citizenship Act, 1955 mandates that:

    • The Union Government must register every citizen of India.

    • National identity cards should be issued to all citizens.

  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) confirmed this in response to an LS question.

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

  • Objective: Official record of all Indian citizens.

  • Current Status:

    • Only Assam has undergone NRC exercise so far.

    • Draft NRC (2019) excluded 19 lakh out of 3.29 crore applicants.

    • The final NRC has not been published yet.

    • Assam government has challenged the draft NRC.

  • Legal Basis- Citizenship Rules (2003)
  • Not uniformly across India

National Population Register (NPR)

  • NPR is a precursor to NRC, recording details of "usual residents."

  • Conducted by: Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI), Ministry of Home Affairs.

  • Legal Basis: Prepared under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and Citizenship Rules, 2003.

  • Mandatory Nature: Registration in NPR is compulsory for all usual residents.

  • Exclusion: Assam is excluded as it has completed the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process.

  • First compiled: In 2010.

  • Updated: In 2015-16, covering 119 crore residents.

  • Linked to: 2011 Census – first phase (House Listing & Housing Schedule).

  • 2027 Census: Government has not decided to update NPR during it.




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