(a) whether nearly 40 percent child births in the country go unregistered annually;
(b) if so, whether the State Governments are not taking concrete steps to get registration of all the child births;
(c) if so, whether due to unregistered births, the exact position of population growth have been in abeyance; and
(d) if so, whether the Union Government have taken any steps in consultation with the State Governments to make it mandatory for registration of births in the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (PROF. RITA VERMA)
(a) As per the latest reports available from the States it is estimated that out of approximately 25 million births in the country in a year around 13.5 million births are registered. Therefore, an estimated 11.5 million births do not get registered.
(b) Some of the States in the country have already achieved 100% registration in births. However, there are States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which have very low levels of registration of births. Administrative weaknesses and lack of commitment on the part of the State Governments are among the main reasons for low levels of registration in these States.
(c) The annual population growth in the country is not estimated through the data obtained from the Civil Registration System as it is not complete. However, annual population growth is estimated from the birth and death rates obtained from the Sample Registration Scheme.
(d) Registration of births and deaths has already been made mandatory in the entire country with the enforcement of the Registration of Births & Deaths Act, 1969. State Governments have been advised time and again to tone up the vital registration system of births and deaths.