5691 - Upgradation of National Register of Citizens - PIB.GOV

Upgradation of National Register of Citizens

Based on modalities received from the Government of Assam, the  Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity  Card) Rule 2003 were amended in November, 2009 and March,  2010 for preparation of National Register of Citizens by inviting  applications from all the residents in Assam for updation of the old  National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951 in Assam based on  relevant records. In order to undertake updating of NRC in all districts of Assam, Pilot Projects for updating of NRC in two blocks (one each in Kamrup and Barpeta districts) were started in June, 2010. Subsequently, Pilot Projects were stopped due to law and order problems. In July 2011, the Government of Assam had set up a Cabinet Sub-Committee to simplify the procedure for updating  of NRC in Assam. The Government of Assam had submitted revised modalities for updation of National Register of Citizens 1951 (NRC) on 5th July, 2013. The revised modalities submitted by the State Government were examined by the Registrar General of India and approved by the competent authority for updation of NRC work. NRC 1951 will be updated by including the names of persons from the electoral rolls upto the midnight of March 24, 1971  and their descendants. A Gazette Notification has already been issued for updating NRC 1951 in whole of Assam with effect from December 2013. As on date, a total amount of Rs.140.58 crore has been released to the Government of Assam for this purpose. The updation of NRC work has been targeted to be completed within three years. This was stated by Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State in the Ministry  of Home Affairs in written reply to a question by Shri Badruddin Ajmal in the Lok Sabha today. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NPR Smart Card The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides that the Central Government may compulsorily register every Citizen of India and issue National Identity Card to him. Accordingly, Government has decided to create National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) by verifing citizenship status of all persons in the National Population Register (NPR) and issue National Identity Cards to all the Citizens of India. The issuance of National Identity Card to Citizen is a statutory requirement under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The financial proposals are being put up to the competent authority for approval. Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 have already laid down the guidelines to be followed for determination of Citizenship status and which have been tested during the pilot project on Multi-purpose National Identity Card (MNIC). This was stated by Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs in written reply to a question by Shri Asaduddin Owaisi in the Lok Sabha today.