[Reader-list] News Items posted on the net on Multipurpose National Identity Cards-99

[Taha Mehmood]

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb2509/at03

State population growth down to 18.9 pc
Spl Correspondent

The Assam Tribune Online
Guwahati, Wednesday, February 25, 2009

 NEW DELHI, Feb 24 – The spectre of demographic change of population
looms large over Nagaland, as the State is among handful of six
States, which have recorded a decadal growth of population. The
decadal growth rate of population in percentage terms has declined in
all States barring Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland and
Gujarat besides few Union Territories, said Minister of State for Home
Affairs, Dr Shakeel Ahmed in a Lok Sabha reply.

As against an average national decadal growth rate of 21.5 pre cent,
Nagaland has recorded a growth rate of whopping 64.5 per cent in 2001,
when the last census operation was conducted. The States population in
2001 was unprecedented high, as in the previous census its population
growth rate was recorded at 56.1 per cent, up from 50 percent in 1981.

Nagaland, whose population was 19.90 lakh in 2001, had recorded
population of 12.09 lakh in 1991.

According to records furnished by the Minister, Assams population
growth rate is down to 18.9 per cent, down from 24.2 per cent recorded
in 1991. Meghalaya is another North Eastern States that has recorded a
high growth rate of 30.7 per cent, though it is down from 32.9
percent.

Assam population in 2001 was 2.66 crore and had recorded a population
of 1.33 crore in 1991.

Denying that the country’s population has recorded a phenomenal
increase, Dr Ahmed said the country’s population has increased to
102.87 crore in 2001 from 54.82 crore in 1971. However, decadal growth
rate of population in percentage terms has declined from 24.7 per cent
in 1971-1981 to 21.5 per cent in 1991-2001.

Meanwhile, the Minister said Government of India has issued nearly 13
lakh multi-purpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) to citizens in the
pilot areas. The pilot project is under implementation in selected
districts in12 States and one Union Territory including Assam and
Tripura bordering Bangladesh.

Dr Ahmed said the problems faced during implementation of the pilot
project, authorities faced problems like verification of citizenship
due to weak document base in rural areas, non-availability of data
entry operators in regional languages, difficulties in capturing of
photographs and finger prints biometrics.

Based on these learnings, the Government of India has decided to
create a National Population Register for all residents with one
reference date at the time of next decennial census in 2011, he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Radhika V Selvi said
Government of India is seized of the problem of cross border
infiltration on the Indo-Bangladesh border. There is no significant
incidence of infiltration on other borders.

The Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a record number of 5130
illegal migrants in 2006, the number has gone down to 2559 in 2008,
the Minister claimed.

The Minister, however, said that Government has no information to
suggest that money generated from cow smuggling from India to
Bangladesh is used to finance smuggling of arms and ammunition.