The very first right of a newborn child is to get a new Birth Certificate registered. A Birth Certificate is an official document that serves as proof of the existence of the individual and also records his/her national identity. Registering the birth of a child is the most important duty of his/her parents. The importance of having a birth certificate is not only restricted to the individual’s identity purpose but has many other benefits too such as health benefits, getting admission into schools/ colleges, property claims, issuing a driver’s license and so on.
Details included in the birth certificate, India
The birth certificate carries important information about the birth of the individual. These details are –
- Date and time of birth
- Name of the child
- Name of both the parents
- Lace of birth, which can be a nursing home or hospital
- Age of the child
- Gender of the child
- Basic information about the father and mother of the child
Process of issuing a birth certificate
Step 1: The very first step is to get and fill the Birth Certificate form from the registrar’s office.
Step 2: When the child is born in a hospital, the form is given by the Medical Officer who s in charge.
Step 3: Fill the form carefully with accurate information, within 21 days of the child’s birth without any delay.
Step 4: If the birth certificate is not registered within 21 days of birth, it is then only issued after police verification.
Step 5: Once the police verify all the birth records of the child such as date, time, place and basic information of the parents, the new Birth Certificate is issued to the applicant.
Step 6: After 7 days of applying, one should follow up with the Municipal Office to know when and if the new Birth Certificate will be available to them.
Step 7: It is advised to provide the office with a self-adhered envelope so that within 7-14 working days, they can send the certificate to the mentioned address.
- India’s Registrar General had published the statistics in the year 2009, which showed that only about 68 % of the births out of the total population of India were registered. Rest 32% remains unregistered.
- As of 2015, orphans who do not possess a birth certificate in India can now submit alternative documents in order to get a passport issued. These alternative documents can be –
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- A Matriculation certificate which is to be submitted along with a bonafide certificate that is sworn by the Head of the Orphanage if the applicant is minor. In case the applicant is a major, that is above 18 years of age, the bonafide certificate can be sworn by the applicant themselves, before the Executive Magistrate stating their place and date of birth.
- If not the matriculation certificate, a declaratory court order stating the date and the place of birth of the applicant.
- As per the NFHS ( National Family Health Survey), about 77% of children belonging to the urban areas,who are under the age of 5 years, had their births registered. On the other hand, only 56.4% of children below the age of 5 years living in rural areas, possessed a birth certificate.
