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Recently , the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that the Union government is yet to decide on updating the National Population Register (NPR) alongside the upcoming Population Census 2027.
Aspect | NPR (National Population Register) | NRC (National Register of Citizens) | Census of India |
Introduction | A register of usual residents in India. Introduced in 2010 as part of identity management. | A register containing names of Indian citizens only.
First prepared in 1951. |
A decadal population enumeration conducted since 1872 (regularly since 1951). |
Legal Provision | Citizenship Act, 1955 and Citizenship Rules, 2003. | Citizenship Act, 1955 and Citizenship Rules 2003;
NRC is a subset of NPR. |
Governed by Census Act, 1948. |
Conducted By | Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). | Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner under MHA (only when notified). | Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, MHA. |
Purpose | To create a comprehensive identity database of usual residents for better policy implementation. | To identify illegal migrants and prepare an authenticated list of Indian citizens. | To collect demographic, socio-economic, and housing data for policy planning. |
Mandatory/
Optional |
Mandatory to provide information. | Voluntary, but individuals must prove citizenship when NRC is conducted. | Mandatory participation, but individual identity is anonymised in data usage. |
Information Collected | Demographic and biometric data (linked to Aadhaar during updating), family linkage. | Proof of citizenship through documents: birth certificates, legacy data, etc. | Basic household and individual information: name, age, sex, literacy, etc. |
Status | Updated along with 2011 Census; proposal to update with 2021 Census pending. | NRC completed only in Assam in 2019.
Nationwide NRC has not been notified yet. |
Last Census conducted in 2011
2021 Census delayed due to COVID-19. The next census will also include caste census. It is supposed to be concluded by 2027. |
Citizenship Link | Does not determine citizenship; just records usual residents. | Directly linked to citizenship; determines who is a citizen. | Not linked to citizenship; purely a data collection exercise. |
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