Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)

Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS)

Source: UNESCAP
GS II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

GS II: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. What are CRVS?
3. Registration system in India

Why in the News?

Recently, the third ministerial conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics for Asia and the Pacific was held in Bangkok, Thailand.

News in Brief

• Governments across Asia and the Pacific reached a landmark decision to ensure that all births are registered and all deaths are recorded by 2030.
• This is bringing the vision of universal, inclusive and resilient civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems one step closer to reality.
• This renewed pledge, adopted after the Third Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Asia and the Pacific, ushers in the next chapter of the CRVS Decade.
• It strengthens regional momentum and aligns more closely with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reinforcing the shared vision of inclusive development for all.

What are CRVS?

About CRVS

• The United Nations defines civil registration and vital statistics as the continuous, permanent, compulsory and universal recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events of the population in accordance with the law.
• Vital Events includes births, deaths and marriages, divorces, besides causes of death.

CRVS Decade

• In 2014, the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
• This was launched as the CRVS Decade to get everyone in the picture.

Status of Registrations

• Over the last decade, in the countries in the Asia Pacific region, the number of children under 5 who are unregistered had dropped to 51 million, from 135 million in 2012, a reduction of more than 60%.
• 29 countries currently have reported over 90% registration of births in a year, and 30 countries have achieved this for death registration.
• Despite this progress, an estimated 14 million children across the region still do not have their births registered by their first birthday.
• Every year, approximately 6.9 million deaths also go unrecorded.

Target Extension

• With the chosen decade complete, 100% registration still not achieved.
• Governments across Asia and the Pacific, on June 25, 2025, signed off on a landmark decision to ensure that all births are registered and all deaths are recorded by 2030.

Registration system in India

• India, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner( RGCI) is responsible for civil registration.
• Union Home Ministry, the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, supports the civil registration system, providing incentives for registration, manpower and logistics support under the National Health Mission.
• The Indian national CRVS coordination mechanism was established in August 2015, while a national CRVS strategy and a comprehensive assessment are still in progress.
• Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969
  • The registration of births and deaths is mandatory under the act.
  • Amendments to it, have made possible the digital registration of births and deaths.
  • The recognition of electronic documents that can be stored safely and securely in the Digilocker by all.

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