National Population Register (NPR) – How is it

different from the National Register of Citizens (NRC)?

clearias.com/npr-vs-nrc

Do you know the difference between the National Population Register

(NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC)?

Recently, there has been at least 4 confusing words in news connected with citizenship
and identity.

They are (1) National Population Register (NPR) (2) National Register of
Citizens (NRC) (3) Aadhaar (UID) (4) Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB)

National Population Register (NPR)

The National Population Register (NPR) is a register of the usual residents of the
country.

A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a
local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area
for the next 6 months or more.

It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.

It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and

National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship
Rules, 2003.

The database under the NPR will be maintained by the Registrar General of India
and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.

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The NPR database contains demographic as well as biometric details.

As per the provisions of the NPR, a resident identity card (RIC) will be issued to
individuals over the age of 18. This will be a chip-embedded smart card with the UID
number (Aadhaar) printed.

In India, NPR was prepared along with Census 2011. It was updated in 2015.

The new and latest NPR is planned to be conducted across India (except Assam)
between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020 along with next census enumeration.

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NPR is not a citizenship enumeration drive; it would also include a foreigner staying in
an area for more than six months.

NPR is the prelude to the NRC.

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

NRC is a verified digital register having names and basic demographic information
about all Indian citizens in a digital format.

A person born in India or having Indian parentage or having resided in India for at least
11 years, is eligible for Indian citizenship.

Union Government has recently announced that NRC will be implemented across all
states in India.

The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India and since then it has not
been updated until recently. The North-East Indian state of Assam has become the first
state in India where the updating of the NRC is being taken up.

NRC would be India’s first such database of citizens.

While NPR will include details of foreigners who are residing in India for a period of 6
months or more, NRC will contain details of only the citizens of India. Hence, NRC can
be said to be a subset of the National Population Register (NPR).

Aadhar (UID)
Aadhaar is a verifiable 12-digit identification number issued by the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to the residents of India for free of cost.

The Aadhaar number on its own does NOT provide citizenship. It is just a unique
number based on your biometric data.

It is compulsory for all Indian residents to register with the NPR, while registration with
the UIDAI is considered voluntary.

Aadhar equips the holder to avail certain services offered by the government. If the
resident wishes to avail those services, he should register for the Aadhar. Otherwise, he
can opt-out of Aadhaar.

Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB)

The Citizenship Amendment bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, and grant
citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian immigrants from
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have illegally migrated into India.

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The Bill also seeks to reduce the requirement of 11 years of continuous stay in the
country to six years to obtain citizenship by naturalisation.

Some opposition parties have maintained that the move violates Article 14 of the
Constitution through religious discrimination, as illegal migrants of the Muslim
community are not given the citizenship status. The Act doesn’t have a provision for
Muslim sects like Shias and Ahmediyas who also face persecution in Pakistan.

The Union Government is planning to introduce the Citizenship Amendment bill before
implementing the National Register of Citizens.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill received a lot of opposition from the natives of the
state of Assam – where there are a lot of illegal immigrants. The tribes of Assam are not
against any community but are against illegal immigration altogether. However, in
Assam, the NRC is already implemented. If the bill becomes an Act, the NRC of the state
of Assam may also get challenged.

Census vs NPR
The recent exercise of NPR is connected with Census 2021, however, there are
differences between the two.

The census is a macro exercise where the data is protected by the confidentiality clause.
Census is not intended to identify the individual identity details, while the NPR, on the
other hand, is designed to collect identity details of every individual.

The 2021 census would conclude on March 1 midnight. A revisional round would be
conducted between March 1, 2021, and March 5, 2021, to include who are left from the
exercise.

Points to note regarding NPR, NRC, and Aadhaar:

1. National Population Register (NPR) may help the government solve many issues
in the country. The government decided to update the National Population
Register along with the Houselisting phase of Census 2021 during April to
September 2020 in all the States/UTs except Assam.
2. While registering with the NPR is mandatory, furnishing of additional data such
as PAN, Aadhaar, driving licence and voter ID is voluntary.
3. NPR will seek verification of biometric details from UIDAI. Hence, those holding
Aadhaar are not required to give biometric details to NPR.
4. The 15 demographic parameters that will be included in NPR are: (1) Name of
person (2) Relationship to head of household (3) Father’s name (4) Mother’s
name (4) Spouse’s name (if married) (5) Sex (6) Date of Birth (7) Marital status
(8) Place of birth (9) Nationality (as declared) (10) Present address of usual
residence (11) Duration of stay at present address (12) Permanent (13) residential
address (14) Occupation/Activity (15) Educational qualification
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 5. NPR will be the base for a nationwide National Register of Citizens. You may note
that the list of citizens of Assam was released recently.
6. The main purpose of the NPR is to identify illegal migrants and identify them as
foreign nationals. However, you may note that – NPR is not a citizenship
enumeration drive. NPR will also include a foreigner staying in an area for more
than six months.
7. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is responsible for enrolling
individuals in the UID scheme, and the Registrar General of India (RGI) is
responsible for enrolling individuals in the NPR scheme.
8. The main aim of Aadhar is to identify the beneficiaries of government services like
subsidies.
9. There is great overlap between the data collected for Aadhar and NPR – hence
efforts are made for more synergy.
10. NRC can be considered as a subset of the National Population Register (NPR).

Why is this topic important?

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah had told the Rajya Sabha that the National Registry of
Citizens (NRC) will be implemented throughout the country (November 20, 2019).

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