Context:
- The Lok Sabha has recently passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that paves the way for digital birth certificates.
- The Bill aims to create a centralised database for deaths and births to help in transparent delivery of public services and to update other databases.
- It proposes the appointment of special “sub-registrars” in case of disasters or epidemics for easier registration of deaths and issuance of certificates and to collect Aadhaar numbers of informants and parents in case of registering births
- The bill proposes the use of a birth certificate as a single document to be used for admission to educational institutions, applications for driving licences, government jobs, passports or Aadhaar, voter enrolment, and registration of marriage, among others.
- This will avoid the need for a multiplicity of documents to prove date and place of birth in the country.
- The bill will also help create a state, and national, level database of registered births and deaths.