Third Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)

27 Jun 2025 GS 2 Governance

Context : Asia-Pacific Nations Commit to Universal Birth and Death Registration by 2030

  • Event:
    The Third Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) for Asia and the Pacific was held in Bangkok, Thailand, where countries reaffirmed their commitment to achieving 100% birth and death registration by 2030.

  • CRVS Defined:
    According to the UN, CRVS refers to the continuous, permanent, compulsory, and universal recording of vital events (births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and causes of death) in accordance with the law.

  • Key Highlights:

    • Despite progress, 14 million children in the region remain unregistered by their first birthday.

    • Around 6.9 million deaths annually go unrecorded.

    • Since 2012, the number of unregistered under-5 children in Asia-Pacific reduced from 135 million to 51 million.

    • 29 countries have achieved over 90% birth registration, and 30 have done so for deaths.

  • New Commitments:

    • The CRVS Decade (2014–2024) is now extended to 2030.

    • Focus areas include:

      • Inclusive and accessible services

      • Gender equity

      • Digital transformation

      • Data privacy and legal safeguards

      • Inter-operable data systems

  • India’s Progress:

    • Birth registration rate increased from 86% to 96% over the CRVS decade.

    • Governed by the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, recently amended for digital compliance.

    • Legal provisions now include:

      • Registration of adopted, orphaned, surrogate, surrendered, and single-parent children.

      • Mandatory cause of death certificates by medical institutions.

    • A central CRVS portal has been launched.

    • Digital registration and Digilocker integration now allow storage and retrieval of documents electronically.

    • UNESCAP acknowledged India’s digital leadership as a model in CRVS digitisation.

  • Challenges Identified in India:

    • Lack of public awareness.

    • Low prioritisation by States.

    • Poor interdepartmental coordination.

    • Low reporting by registration units.

  • Global Relevance:

    • Birth registration enables legal identity and access to services.

    • Death registration aids in inheritance, insurance, and policy planning.

    • SDG Target 16.9 aims to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration, by 2030.



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