(THE GIST OF PIB) Registrar General of India

(JUNE-2025)

Recently, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has asked all States to ensure that birth certificates are issued to mothers of new-born children before they are discharged from hospitals, particularly government run-hospitals.

In 1949, the Government of India established a permanent organisation under the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by the Registrar General and Ex-Officio Census Commissioner of India.
This position’s role is mainly to ensure a systematic collection of statistics related to India’s population size, growth and distribution.
The RGI is also responsible for implementing the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
The Registrar General is typically a civil servant of Joint Secretary rank.
The office also conducts demographic and linguistic surveys in addition to the decennial Census.

Conducting the Census of India: The Census of India offers detailed data about the demographic, socio-economic and geographic characteristics of the population.
Linguistic Survey of India (LSI): Conducted alongside the decennial Census, this survey provides a comprehensive picture of the linguistic diversity in India.
The first Linguistic Survey was completed by George Abraham Grierson in 1928.
Civil Registration System (CRS): It is a mandatory system for birth and death registration in India.
It serves as a real-time, continuous population data collection mechanism.
A birth certificate is issued by the registrar in accordance with Section 12 of the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969. The RBD Act, 1969 which was amended in 2023, mandates registration of all births and deaths on the Centre’s portal from October 1, 2023.