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National Population Register (NPR)

Mamata Banerjee leads a rally of thousands of partymen, vowing not to allow NRC and Citizenship Act in West Bengal in Kolkata. Photo: PTI

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media on the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday,  Nov. 18, 2019 |  (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

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	The Census process and an update of the National Population Register (NPR) across the country are to take place from April 2020 to September 2020, and the new data will be published in February 2021. While the national Census exercise is not unknown to most people, the term National Population Register (NPR) is not so well known. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions around NPR:</div>
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	<strong>What is National Population Register (NPR)</strong></div>
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	Before understanding NPR, we need to know what is a &lsquo;resident&rsquo;. Any person who has been living in an area or locality for six months or more or intends to live in an area/locality for the next six months at the time of a survey is considered a resident.</div>
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	The NPR is a register of all &lsquo;residents&rsquo; of the country, prepared at several levels &mdash; local (village/sub-town), subdistrict, district, state and national &mdash; according to the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. The objective of the exercise is the create a comprehensive database of residents of the nation including their demographic particulars. The exercise is carried out under the supervision of Registrar General and ex-Officio Census Commissioner, India. Every citizen of India has to be issued a national identity card under the law.</div>
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	<strong>What are the details required to be given for NPR?</strong></div>
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	The demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident &mdash; name, relationship to the head of the household, father&#39;s name, mother&#39;s name, spouse&#39;s name (if married), sex, date of birth, marital status, place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at the present address, permanent residential address, occupation, and educational qualification.</div>
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	The NPR was introduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2010. It was updated in 2015 by the Narendra Modi government through a door-to-door survey. The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, has approves Rs 3,941.35 cr for exercise to update the NPR.</div>
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	<strong>What is the relation between NPR and Census?</strong></div>
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	The NPR update is the first phase of the Census 2021 exercise.</div>
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	The census, which is the single largest source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India, is conducted on the basis of the Census Act of 1948. Census 2021 will take into account the findings of the NPR.</div>
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	The Census 2021 will be done in two phases. In the first, the work of house-listing or housing Census will be conducted from April to September 2020. In the second, the enumeration of the population will be done from February 9 to February 28, 2021, with reference moment as 00:00 hours of March 1, 2021.</div>
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	For snow-bound areas in Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2020.</div>

Learn what is National Population Register, NPR Application Status, relation between NPR and Census, NPR details and more NPR related news here at Business Standard.

What is National Population Register, NPR News, NPR Application

What is National Population Register (NPR)

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	The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. At present, only Assam has such a register.&nbsp;</div>
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	The exercise may be extended to other states as well. Nagaland is already creating a similar database known as the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants. The Centre is planning to create a National Population Register (NPR), which will contain demographic and biometric details of citizens.</div>
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	<strong>What is NRC in Assam?</strong></div>
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	The NRC in Assam is basically a list of Indian citizens living in the state. The citizens&rsquo; register sets out to identify foreign nationals in the state that borders Bangladesh.</div>
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	The process to update the register began following a Supreme Court order in 2013, with the state&rsquo;s nearly 33 million people having to prove that they were Indian nationals prior to March 24, 1971.<br />
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	The updated final NRC was released on August 31, with over 1.9 million applicants failing to make it to the list.<br />
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	<strong>How does one prove citizenship?</strong></div>
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	In Assam, one of the basic criteria was that the names of applicant&#39;s family members should either be in the first NRC prepared in 1951 or in the electoral rolls up to March 24, 1971.&nbsp;</div>
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	Other than that, applicants also had the option to present documents such as refugee registration certificate, birth certificate, LIC policy, land and tenancy records, citizenship certificate,&nbsp; passport,&nbsp; government issued licence or certificate, bank/post office accounts, permanent residential certificate, government employment certificate, educational certificate and court records.</div>
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	<strong>What happens with the excluded individuals</strong></div>
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	&quot;Non-inclusion of a person&#39;s name in the NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared a foreigner,&quot; govt has said. Such individuals will have the option to present their case before foreigners&#39; tribunals.&nbsp;</div>
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	If one loses the case in the tribunal, the person can move the high court and, then, the Supreme Court.&nbsp;</div>
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	In the case of Assam, the state government has clarified it will not detain any individual until he/she is declared a foreigner by the foreigners&#39; tribunal.<br />
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		<strong>What can people do if they cannot find legacy data</strong></div>
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		The government has set up NRC Seva Kendras in every district of Assam, which assist people in searching for Legacy Data, issuing of Legacy Data Code, and in receipt of NRC Application forms.</div>
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	<strong>The 1951 NRC in Assam</strong></div>
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	NRC for Indian citizens in Assam was first created in 1951. Manipur and Tripura were also granted permission to create their own NRCs, but it never materialised. The reason behind the move was to identify Indian citizens in Assam amid &quot;unabated&quot; migration from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).&nbsp;</div>
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	The list comprised of those who lived in India on January 26, 1950, or were born in India or had parents who were born in India or had been living in India for at least five years before the January 26, 1950 cut-off.&nbsp;</div>

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. Learn what is NRC in Assam and other related news here at Business Standard.

What is NRC, NRC in Assam, NRC Documents, NRC Assam News,

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		The Rajya Sabha on December 11, 2019 passed the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act with as many as 125 MPs voting in favour of it and 99 against it. On December 9, 2019, the CAB Bill was tabled and passed in the Lok Sabha&#39;s Winter Session. President Ram Nath Kovind signed it on December 12.</div>
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		<strong>What is Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></div>
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		The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to fast-track citizenship for persecuted minority groups in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The six minority groups that have been specifically identified are Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis. The Bill aims to change the definition of illegal migrants. However, the Act doesn&rsquo;t have a provision for Muslim sects like Shias and Ahmedis who also face persecution in Pakistan.</div>
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		The beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill can reside in any state of the country and the burden of those persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country.</div>
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		Presently, the Constitution of India provides for citizenship by naturalisation &ndash; for people who have lived in India for the past 12 months and for 11 of the past 14 years. It also provides for people whose parents or grandparents were born in India to become Indian citizens.</div>
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		<strong>Who are illegal immigrants from India perspective?</strong></div>
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		As per the Citizenship Act, 1955, an illegal immigrant is one who enters India with fake or forged documents and/or does not have a valid passport. A person who stays beyond the visa permit is also referred to as an illegal immigrant.</div>
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		<strong>When did the issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill come up?</strong></div>
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		Prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was seeking to topple the Congress-led UPA government, promised to grant citizenship to Hindus persecuted in the neighbouring countries. In the party&#39;s election manifesto, the BJP promised to give shelter to the Hindus and welcome the refugees.</div>
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		<strong>Which parties are against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and why?</strong></div>
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		BJP&#39;s coalition partner Assam Gana Parishad has threatened to cut ties with the party if the Bill is passed. NGOs like Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and students&#39; organisation All Assam Students&rsquo; Union also have come forward in opposing the Bill. All Opposition parties, including the Congress and All India United Democratic Front, have opposed the idea of granting citizenship to an individual on the basis of religion. It is also argued that the Bill if made into an Act, will nullify the updated National Registration of Citizenship (NRC).</div>
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		Parties and activists opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 are of the view that it works against the cultural and linguistic identity of the indigenous people. Mizoram and other northeastern states, which have a diverse indigenous community, have urged the government not to table the new citizenship bill, saying it will open a &quot;floodgate&rdquo; of illegal immigrants in the state.</div>
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		In January 2019, days after Union home minister Amit Shah announced that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would be brought in parliament again, protests were held in Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya. The Nagaland and North East Forum of Indigenous People (NEFIP) claimed that it would seek the United Nations&rsquo; intervention if the Centre implements the Bill.</div>
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		<strong>Northeast protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong></div>
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		The Bill has divided India into protests and jubilations. While Hindu refugee communities across India are celebrating the government&#39;s move, a majority of Northeast remains on edge. Guwahati was the epicentre of anti-CAB protests. People in the north-eastern states fear that the Bill would change the demography of the states if it is passed as people of different cultures and languages will get citizenship of the country. Currently, the northeast is witnessing protests against Bangladeshi immigrants.</div>
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		<strong>Exemptions under Citizenship Bill 2019</strong></div>
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		The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill exempts certain areas in the North-East from this provision. It would not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. This effectively means that Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram along with almost whole of Meghalaya and parts of Assam and Tripura would stay out of the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.</div>
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		<strong>Amendments for OCI cardholders</strong></div>
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		According to the Citizenship Bill, a foreigner may register as an Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) if they are of Indian origin or their spouse is of Indian origin. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill entitles the OCI cardholders to benefits such as the right to travel to India, and to work and study in the country.</div>
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		<strong>What is the current status of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019?</strong></div>
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		The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was referred to a joint select committee in 2016, after being discussed extensively in the Lok Sabha. Members of the parliamentary committee visited several parts of the northeastern states and discussed the Bill with various organisation. On January 8, 2019 the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. However, before it could be tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill lapsed on June 3, 2019, as the tenure of the Lok Sabha ended.&nbsp;</div>
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		The Rajya Sabha on December 11, 2019 passed the Bill. However, the Opposition, which terms it &#39;unconstitutional&#39;, is likely to knock the Supreme Court of India&#39;s door to protest against the Bill. Meanwhile, protests in the north east, particularly in Assam continue.&nbsp;</div>
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Citizenship Amendment Act: Know what is Citizenship (Amendment) Act, who are illegal immigrants, India Citizenship Bill news, CAB news and more at Business Standard.

Page 4 - Latest Updates on National Population Register (NPR)

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