There have been a lot of demonstrations going on in the country, both in favour and support of the new Citizen’s Ammendment Bill, since it has been passed in the parliament. A fresh controversy erupted when government announced the updating of the National Population Register (NPR) and some people assumed it to be linked to National Citizen’s Register. But are these linked? Amidst the on-going confusion about these terms, we attempt to explain them in most understandable manner for you.
What is NPR?
National Population Register or NPR contains a list of all residents, who have lived at a locality for at least the last six months and plans to stay in that area for the next six months or more. It is prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national level.
The idea is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars. NPR listing will be carried out simultaneously along with the Census. While the process of NPR and Census will begin simultaneously, the two databases are not same. The census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India while NPR only contains demographic information.
Why NPR if Census Exists?
Officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs state that NPR helps identify the current demographics of actual residents who will be direct beneficiaries of any schemes launched in the area.
What is NRC?
National Citizen’s Register or NRC is a verified digital register containing names and basic demographic information about all Indian citizens in a digital format. A person born in India or having Indian parentage or having resided in India for at least 11 years, is eligible for Indian citizenship.
Difference between NPR & NRC
Among the on-going protests and breaking news in media, the general public is confused about both the terms and its implications.
According to the Citizenship Rules, notified on December 10, 2003, NPR is ‘the register containing details of persons usually residing in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated area within a ward in a town or urban area. NRC is a register containing details of Indian Citizens living in India and outside India.
NRC, though theoretically a subset of NPR, was first prepared in 1951 and after that no updation has happened. Unlike NPR, names included in NRC are scientifically screened before it find a place in NRC. NRC is just a register of citizens and doesn’t contain any metadata.
NPR (National Population Register) and NRC (National Register of Citizens) are quite different from each other since NRC does not include foreign citizens. NPR’s scope and purpose are limited for entering the person to the list, the details presented by the individual by word of mouth are only considered and no document proof is required as mandated in case of NRC.
Also at this point of time NRC is only going to be implemented in Assam only, since Assam has been facing the problem of illegal migrants from Bangladesh