MHA calls meet to discuss NPR

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 16

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has convened a meeting of Chief Secretaries and the Director Census on Friday to discuss the modalities for the 2020 Census and the National Population Register (NPR).

Officials said the meeting would be chaired by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai. The meeting will discuss the modalities for the house-listing phase of the Census and the NPR, to be carried out from April 1 to September 30, they said.

Bengal CMMamata Banerjee has already announced that representatives from her state would not attend the meeting.

The notification for the house-listing and NPR exercise came amid furore over the contentious CAA. The ministry officials said most states have notified provisions related to the NPR, which is a register of residents of the country.

It is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national levels under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

The rules have a provision for fine of up to Rs 1,000 on those violating it. The data for the NPR was last collected in 2010 along with the houselisting phase of the Census 2011. Updating of this data was done in 2015 by conducting a door-to-door survey.

While updating the register in 2015, the government had asked for details like Aadhaar and mobile numbers. This time, the information related to their driving licence and voter ID card may also be gathered, the officials said, adding that PAN card details would not be collected as part of this exercise.