[Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-19

[Taha Mehmood]

*
http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/rnov2003/12112003/r1211200315.html

PIB Press Release

PRESIDENT TO LAUNCH NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES*
------------------------------
*12th November, 2003*

A national campaign on Birth Certificates will be launched during the Child
Rights Week November 14-20, 2003 to create awareness on the need of Birth
Certificates for all children in the country. Birth Certificates will also
be issued to children who do not have it during this weeklong campaign. The
President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has kindly consented to launch the
campaign at a function to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on November 14,
2003. During the function Birth Certificates will be distributed to selected
children by the President.

The registration of birth has been recognized as the right of the child by
the UN Convention on Child Rights, 1989. Government of India being a
signatory to this Convention is bound to ensure complete registration of all
births in the country. This is considered as the first step to provide an
identity to the child and hence, is also important in the context of the
proposed multi-purpose National Identity Card Project.

It is estimated that about one crore children among 1.4 crore that are
registered every year do not get birth certificates. Approximately 10 crore
children below 10 years of age do not have the birth certificates. It is
therefore proposed that birth certificates will be issued to such children
who do not have birth certificates during this national campaign. In the
first phase of the campaign those children whose births have been registered
and are living within the village/town of their birth would be targeted, as
their birth must have been registered in the same village/town. In the
second phase of campaign children born in places other than the village/town
where they are currently staying would be targeted. This phase would involve
getting the birth certificates from the place where they were born and
distributed to the children. It is also proposed to cover all the children
whose births have not been registered in the third phase, where the births
would be registered and certificates issued.

The aim of the campaign is also that the issuing of birth certificates to
the children is expected to create awareness among the public about the
functioning of the registration system and the child's right to get a birth
certificate on registration done in time. Moreover, in the absence of
complete registration of births and deaths, the country is not in a position
to get estimates of indicators like Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality
Rate, etc. which are needed to prepare action plans and monitor their
implementation for family planning, reducing Infant Mortality etc. The
National Population Policy has set the target of achieving 100 per cent
registration of births and deaths by 2010.